Penn-Yan Bill
In gallus old Kentucky, where the grass is very blue,Where the liquor is the smoothest and the girls are fair and true,Where the crop of he-gawd gentlemen is full of heart and sand,And the stock of four-time winners is the finest in the land;Where the democratic party in bourbon hardihoodFor more than half a century unterrified has stood,Where nod the black-eyed Susans to the prattle of the rill--There--there befell the wooing of Penn-Yan Bill.
Down yonder in the cottage that is nestling in the shadeOf the walnut trees that seem to love that quiet little gladeAbides a pretty maiden of the bonny name of Sue--As pretty as the black-eyed flow'rs and quite as modest, too;And lovers came there by the score, of every age and kind,But not a one (the story goes) was quite to Susie's mind.Their sighs, their protestations, and their pleadings made her ill--Till at once upon the scene hove Penn-Yan Bill.
He came from old Montana and he rode a broncho mare,He had a rather howd'y'do and rough-and-tumble air;His trousers were of buckskin and his coat of furry stuff--His hat was drab of color and its brim was wide enough;Upon each leg a stalwart boot reached just above the knee,And in the belt about his waist his weepons carried he;A rather strapping lover for our little Susie--still,She was his choice and he was hers, was Penn-Yan Bill.
We wonder that the ivy seeks out the oaken tree,And twines her tendrils round him, though scarred and gnarled he be;We wonder that a gentle girl, unused to worldly cares,Should choose a man whose life has been a constant scrap with bears;Ah, 'tis the nature of the vine, and of the maiden, too--So when the bold Montana boy came from his lair to woo,The fair Kentucky blossom felt all her heartstrings thrillResponsive to the purring of Penn-Yan Bill.
He told her of his cabin in the mountains far away,Of the catamount that howls by night, the wolf that yawps by day;He told her of the grizzly with the automatic jaw,He told her of the Injun who devours his victims raw;Of the jayhawk with his tawdry crest and whiskers in his throat,Of the great gosh-awful sarpent and the Rocky mountain goat.A book as big as Shakespeare's or as Webster's you could fillWith the yarns that emanated from Penn-Yan Bill!
Lo, as these mighty prodigies the westerner relates,Her pretty mouth falls wide agape--her eyes get big as plates;And when he speaks of varmints that in the Rockies growShe shudders and she clings to him and timidly cries "Oh!"And then says he: "Dear Susie, I'll tell you what to do--You be my wife, and none of these 'ere things dare pester you!"And she? She answers, clinging close and trembling yet: "I will."And then he gives her one big kiss, does Penn-Yan Bill.
Avaunt, ye poet lovers, with your wishywashy lays!Avaunt, ye solemn pedants, with your musty, bookish ways!Avaunt, ye smurking dandies who air your etiquetteUpon the gold your fathers worked so long and hard to get!How empty is your nothingness beside the sturdy talesWhich mountaineers delight to tell of border hills and vales--Of snaix that crawl, of beasts that yowl, of birds that flap and trillIn the wild egregious altitude of Penn-Yan Bill.
Why, over all these mountain peaks his honest feet have trod--So high above the rest of us he seemed to walk with God;He's breathed the breath of heaven, as it floated, pure and free,From the everlasting snow-caps to the mighty western sea;And he's heard that awful silence which thunders in the ear:"There is a great Jehovah, and His biding place is here!"These--these solemn voices and these the sights that thrillIn the far-away Montana of Penn-Yan Bill.
Of course she had to love him, for it was her nature to;And she'll wed him in the summer, if all we hear be true.The blue grass will be waving in that cool Kentucky gladeWhere the black-eyed Susans cluster in the pleasant walnut shade--Where the doves make mournful music and the locust trills a songTo the brook that through the pasture scampers merrily along;And speechless pride and rapture ineffable shall fillThe beatific bosom of Penn-Yan Bill!
Words in this poem 33
- bourbon n.
- A member of a family which has occupied several European thrones, and whose descendants still claim the throne of France. [From the castle and seigniory of Bourbon in central France.]
- hardihood n.
- Boldness, united with firmness and constancy of mind; bravery; intrepidity; also, audaciousness; impudence. [Hardy + -hood.]
- rill n.
- A very small brook; a streamlet. [Cf. LG. rille a small channel or brook, a furrow, a chamfer, OE. rigol a small brook, F. rigole a trench or furrow for water, W. rhill a row, rhigol a little di]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- nestling n.
- A young bird which has not abandoned the nest. Piers Plowman.
- glade n.
- An open passage through a wood; a grassy open or cleared space in a forest. [Prob. of Scand. origin, and akin to glad, a.; cf. also W. golead, goleuad, a lighting, illumination, fr. goleu light, clear, bright, goleu fwlch glade, lit., a ]
- bonny a.
- Handsome; beautiful; pretty; attractively lively and graceful. [OE. boni, prob. fr. F. bon, fem. bonne, good, fr. L. bonus good. See Bounty, and cf. Bonus, Boon.]
- hove v. i.
- To rise; to swell; to heave; to cause to swell.
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- broncho n.
- A native or a Mexican horse of small size. [Western U.S.] [Sp. bronco rough, wild.]
- buckskin n.
- The skin of a buck.
- furry a.
- Covered with fur; dressed in fur. [From Fur.]
- stalwart a.
- Brave; bold; strong; redoubted; daring; vehement; violent. [OE. stalworth, AS. stælwyrth serviceable, probably originally, good at stealing, or worth stealing or taking, and afterwards extended to other causes of estimat]
- strapping a.
- Tall; strong; lusty; large; as, a strapping fellow.
- oaken a.
- Made or consisting of oaks or of the wood of oaks. [AS. acen.]
- gnarled a.
- Knotty; full of knots or gnarls; twisted; crossgrained.
- scrap n.
- Something scraped off; hence, a small piece; a bit; a fragment; a detached, incomplete portion. [OE. scrappe, fr. Icel. skrap trifle, cracking. See Scrape, v. t.]
- lair n.
- A place in which to lie or rest; especially, the bed or couch of a wild beast. [OE. leir, AS. leger; akin to D. leger, G. lager couch, lair, OHG. laga, Goth. ligrs, and to E. lie. See Lie to be prostrate, and cf. Layer, Leaguer.]
- responsive a.
- That responds; ready or inclined to respond. [Cf. F. resposif.]
- catamount n.
- The cougar. Applied also, in some parts of the United States, to the lynx. [Cat + mount; cf. Sp. gato mentes mountain cat.]
- grizzly a.
- Somewhat gray; grizzled.
- tawdry a.
- Bought at the festival of St. Audrey. [Said to be corrupted from Saint Audrey, or Auldrey, meaning Saint Ethelreda, implying therefore, originally, bought at the fair of St. Audrey, where laces and g]
- westerner n.
- A native or inhabitant of the west.
- agape adv.
- Gaping, as with wonder, expectation, or eager attention. [Pref. a- + gape.]
- pester v. t.
- To trouble; to disturb; to annoy; to harass with petty vexations. [Abbrev. fr. impester, fr. OF. empaistrier, empestrer, to entangle the feet or legs, to embarrass, F. empêtrer; pref. em-, en- (L. in in) + LL. pastorium, pastor]
- avaunt v. t.
- To advance; to move forward; to elevate.
- bookish a.
- Given to reading; fond of study; better acquainted with books than with men; learned from books.
- crawl v. i.
- To move slowly by drawing the body along the ground, as a worm; to move slowly on hands and kness; to creep. [Dan. kravle, or Icel. krafla, to paw, scrabble with the hands; akin to Sw. kr to crawl; cf. LG. krabbeln, D. krabbelen to scratch.]
- yowl v. i.
- To utter a loud, long, and mournful cry, as a dog; to howl; to yell. [See Yawl, v. i.]
- biding n.
- Residence; habitation. Rowe.
- speechless a.
- Destitute or deprived of the faculty of speech.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- beatific a.
- Having the power to impart or complete blissful enjoyment; blissful. [Cf. F. béatifique, L. beatificus. See Beatify.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Penn-Yan Bill is in the public domain. This text is taken from Hoosier Lyrics, Project Gutenberg ebook #36150; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eugene Field, Penn-Yan Bill, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/penn-yan-bill.html, id L18578.
Form and metre
Penn-Yan Bill is 72 lines in 9 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDD, complete in 8 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.5 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBCCDD blueA · trueA · sandB · landB · hardihoodC · stoodC · rillD · billD
- 2 AABBCCDD shadeA · gladeA · sueB · tooB · kindC · mindC · illD · billD
- 3 AABBCCDD mareA · airA · stuffB · enoughB · kneeC · heC · stillD · billD
- 4 AABBCCDD treeA · beA · caresB · bearsB · tooC · wooC · thrillD · billD
- 5 AA--BBCC awayA · dayA · jaw · raw · throatB · goatB · fillC · billC
- 6 AABBCCDD relatesA · platesA · growB · ohB · doC · youC · willD · billD
- 7 AABBCCDD laysA · waysA · etiquetteB · getB · talesC · valesC · trillD · billD
- 8 AABBCCDD trodA · godA · freeB · seaB · earC · hereC · thrillD · billD
- 9 AABBCCDD toA · trueA · gladeB · shadeB · songC · alongC · fillD · billD
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In gallus old Kentucky, where the grass is very blue, | 14 | ·/˘·˘/˘····/˘· |
| Where the liquor is the smoothest and the girls are fair and true, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘······· |
| Where the crop of he-gawd gentlemen is full of heart and sand, | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| And the stock of four-time winners is the finest in the land; | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| Where the democratic party in bourbon hardihood | 14 | ···˘/˘/˘·/˘/˘˘ |
| For more than half a century unterrified has stood, | 13 | ·····/˘˘····· |
| Where nod the black-eyed Susans to the prattle of the rill-- | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘··· |
| There--there befell the wooing of Penn-Yan Bill. | 11 | ··˘/·/˘···· |
| Down yonder in the cottage that is nestling in the shade | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| Of the walnut trees that seem to love that quiet little glade | 14 | ··/·······//˘· |
| Abides a pretty maiden of the bonny name of Sue-- | 14 | ˘/·/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| As pretty as the black-eyed flow'rs and quite as modest, too; | 14 | ·/˘········/˘· |
| And lovers came there by the score, of every age and kind, | 14 | ·/˘······/˘··· |
| But not a one (the story goes) was quite to Susie's mind. | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| Their sighs, their protestations, and their pleadings made her ill-- | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘··· |
| Till at once upon the scene hove Penn-Yan Bill. | 11 | ··········· |
| He came from old Montana and he rode a broncho mare, | 14 | ····˘/˘····/˘· |
| He had a rather howd'y'do and rough-and-tumble air; | 14 | ···/˘······/˘· |
| His trousers were of buckskin and his coat of furry stuff-- | 14 | ·/˘··/·····/˘· |
| His hat was drab of color and its brim was wide enough; | 14 | ·····/˘·····˘/ |
| Upon each leg a stalwart boot reached just above the knee, | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| And in the belt about his waist his weepons carried he; | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| A rather strapping lover for our little Susie--still, | 14 | ·/˘/˘/˘·//˘/˘· |
| She was his choice and he was hers, was Penn-Yan Bill. | 12 | ············ |
| We wonder that the ivy seeks out the oaken tree, | 13 | ·/˘··/˘···/˘· |
| And twines her tendrils round him, though scarred and gnarled he be; | 14 | ·········˘···· |
| We wonder that a gentle girl, unused to worldly cares, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Should choose a man whose life has been a constant scrap with bears; | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| Ah, 'tis the nature of the vine, and of the maiden, too-- | 14 | ···/˘······/˘· |
| So when the bold Montana boy came from his lair to woo, | 14 | ····˘/˘······· |
| The fair Kentucky blossom felt all her heartstrings thrill | 13 | ··˘/˘/˘······ |
| Responsive to the purring of Penn-Yan Bill. | 11 | ˘/˘··/˘···· |
| He told her of his cabin in the mountains far away, | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Of the catamount that howls by night, the wolf that yawps by day; | 15 | ··/˘··········· |
| He told her of the grizzly with the automatic jaw, | 14 | ·····/˘···˘/˘· |
| He told her of the Injun who devours his victims raw; | 14 | ········˘/·/˘· |
| Of the jayhawk with his tawdry crest and whiskers in his throat, | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| Of the great gosh-awful sarpent and the Rocky mountain goat. | 15 | ····/˘····/˘/˘· |
| A book as big as Shakespeare's or as Webster's you could fill | 14 | ·····/···/˘··· |
| With the yarns that emanated from Penn-Yan Bill! | 12 | ····/˘·˘···· |
| Lo, as these mighty prodigies the westerner relates, | 14 | ···/˘/˘˘·/˘˘˘/ |
| Her pretty mouth falls wide agape--her eyes get big as plates; | 14 | ·/˘···˘/······ |
| And when he speaks of varmints that in the Rockies grow | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| She shudders and she clings to him and timidly cries "Oh!" | 14 | ·/˘······/˘˘·· |
| And then says he: "Dear Susie, I'll tell you what to do-- | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| You be my wife, and none of these 'ere things dare pester you!" | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| And she? She answers, clinging close and trembling yet: "I will." | 14 | ···/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| And then he gives her one big kiss, does Penn-Yan Bill. | 12 | ············ |
| Avaunt, ye poet lovers, with your wishywashy lays! | 12 | ˘/·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Avaunt, ye solemn pedants, with your musty, bookish ways! | 14 | ˘/·/˘····/˘/˘· |
| Avaunt, ye smurking dandies who air your etiquette | 13 | ˘/···/˘···/˘˘ |
| Upon the gold your fathers worked so long and hard to get! | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| How empty is your nothingness beside the sturdy tales | 14 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/·/˘· |
| Which mountaineers delight to tell of border hills and vales-- | 14 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘··· |
| Of snaix that crawl, of beasts that yowl, of birds that flap and trill | 14 | ·············· |
| In the wild egregious altitude of Penn-Yan Bill. | 13 | ···˘/˘/˘····· |
| Why, over all these mountain peaks his honest feet have trod-- | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘··· |
| So high above the rest of us he seemed to walk with God; | 14 | ·············· |
| He's breathed the breath of heaven, as it floated, pure and free, | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘··· |
| From the everlasting snow-caps to the mighty western sea; | 15 | ···˘/˘····/˘/˘· |
| And he's heard that awful silence which thunders in the ear: | 14 | ····/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| "There is a great Jehovah, and His biding place is here!" | 14 | ····˘/˘··/˘··· |
| These--these solemn voices and these the sights that thrill | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| In the far-away Montana of Penn-Yan Bill. | 12 | ···˘/˘/˘···· |
| Of course she had to love him, for it was her nature to; | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| And she'll wed him in the summer, if all we hear be true. | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| The blue grass will be waving in that cool Kentucky glade | 14 | ·····/˘···˘/˘· |
| Where the black-eyed Susans cluster in the pleasant walnut shade-- | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘/·· |
| Where the doves make mournful music and the locust trills a song | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| To the brook that through the pasture scampers merrily along; | 14 | ······/˘/˘/˘˘/ |
| And speechless pride and rapture ineffable shall fill | 13 | ·/˘··/˘˘/˘˘·· |
| The beatific bosom of Penn-Yan Bill! | 10 | ····/˘···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.