The Color That Suits Me Best
Any color--so long as it's red--Is the color that suits me best,Though I will allow there is much to be saidFor yellow and green and the rest;But the feeble tints, which some affectIn the things they make or buy,Have never (I say it with all respect)Appealed to my critical eye.
There's that in red that warmeth the bloodAnd quickeneth a man within,And bringeth to speedy and perfect budThe germs of original sin;So, though I am properly born and bred,I'll own, with a certain zest,That any color--so long as it's red--Is the color that suits me best!
For where is a color that can be comparedWith the blush of a buxom lass--Or where such warmth as of the hairOf the genuine white horse class?And, lo, reflected in this cupOf cherry Bordeaux I seeWhat inspiration girdeth me up--Yes, red is the color for me!
Through acres and acres of art I've strayedIn Italy, Germany, France;On many a picture a master has madeI've squandered a passing glance;Marines I hate, madonnas andThose Dutch freaks I detest!But the peerless daubs of my native land--They're red, and I like them best!
'Tis little I care how folks deride--I'm backed by the west, at least,And we are free to say that we can't abideThe tastes that obtain down east;And we are mighty proud to have it saidThat here in the critical west,Most any color--so long as it's red--Is the color that suits us best!
Words in this poem
- zest n.
- A piece of orange or lemon peel, or the aromatic oil which may be squeezed from such peel, used to give flavor to liquor, etc. [F. zeste, probably fr. L. schistos split, cleft, divided, Gr. Schism.]
- buxom a.
- Yielding; pliable or compliant; ready to obey; obedient; tractable; docile; meek; humble. [OE. buxum, boxom, buhsum, pliable, obedient, AS. bocsum, buhsum (akin to D. buigzaam blexible, G. biegsam); bugan to bow, bend + -sum, E. -some. See Bow to bend]
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- bordeaux a.
- Pertaining to Bordeaux in the south of France.
- detest v. t.
- To witness against; to denounce; to condemn. [L. detestare, detestatum, and detestari, to curse while calling a deity to witness, to execrate, detest; de + testari to be a witness, testify, testis a witness]
- folks n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- deride v. t.
- To laugh at with contempt; to laugh to scorn; to turn to ridicule or make sport of; to mock; to scoff at. [L. deridere, derisum; de- + rid to laugh. See Ridicule.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Color That Suits Me Best 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, The Color That Suits Me Best, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/the-color-that-suits-me-best.html, id L11627.
Form and metre
The Color That Suits Me Best is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABABCDCD redA · bestB · saidA · restB · affectC · buyD · respectC · eyeD
- 2 ABABCDCD bloodA · withinB · budA · sinB · bredC · zestD · redC · bestD
- 3 -A-ABCBC compared · lassA · hair · classA · cupB · seeC · upB · meC
- 4 ABABCDCD strayedA · franceB · madeA · glanceB · andC · detestD · landC · bestD
- 5 ABABCDCD derideA · leastB · abideA · eastB · saidC · westD · redC · bestD
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Any color--so long as it's red-- | 9 | /˘/˘····· |
| Is the color that suits me best, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Though I will allow there is much to be said | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| For yellow and green and the rest; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But the feeble tints, which some affect | 9 | ··/˘···˘/ |
| In the things they make or buy, | 7 | ······· |
| Have never (I say it with all respect) | 9 | ·/·····˘/ |
| Appealed to my critical eye. | 8 | ˘/··/˘˘· |
| There's that in red that warmeth the blood | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| And quickeneth a man within, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| And bringeth to speedy and perfect bud | 10 | ·/˘·/˘·˘/· |
| The germs of original sin; | 8 | ···˘/˘˘· |
| So, though I am properly born and bred, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| I'll own, with a certain zest, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| That any color--so long as it's red-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Is the color that suits me best! | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| For where is a color that can be compared | 11 | ····/˘···˘/ |
| With the blush of a buxom lass-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or where such warmth as of the hair | 8 | ········ |
| Of the genuine white horse class? | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| And, lo, reflected in this cup | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Of cherry Bordeaux I see | 7 | ·/˘˘/·· |
| What inspiration girdeth me up-- | 9 | ··˘/˘/˘·· |
| Yes, red is the color for me! | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Through acres and acres of art I've strayed | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| In Italy, Germany, France; | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘˘· |
| On many a picture a master has made | 10 | ·/·/˘·/˘·· |
| I've squandered a passing glance; | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Marines I hate, madonnas and | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| Those Dutch freaks I detest! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| But the peerless daubs of my native land-- | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| They're red, and I like them best! | 7 | ······· |
| 'Tis little I care how folks deride-- | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| I'm backed by the west, at least, | 8 | ··˘····· |
| And we are free to say that we can't abide | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| The tastes that obtain down east; | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| And we are mighty proud to have it said | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That here in the critical west, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Most any color--so long as it's red-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Is the color that suits us best! | 8 | ··/˘···· |
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.