Laurel · W. S. Gilbert · The Bab Ballads

Ballad

W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) · 1869

iambic trimeter · ABAB · 74 lines · from The Bab Ballads

The moon is on the sea,Willow!The wind blows towards the lee,Willow!But though I sigh and sob and cry,No Lady Jane for me,Willow!

She says, “’Twere folly quite,Willow!For me to wed a wight,Willow!Whose lot is cast before the mast”;And possibly she’s right,Willow!

His skipper (CAPTAIN JOYCE),He gave him many a rating,And almost lost his voiceFrom thus expostulating:

“Lay aft, you lubber, do!What’s come to that young man, JOE?Belay!—’vast heaving! you!Do kindly stop that banjo!

“I wish, I do—O lor’!—You’d shipped aboard a trader:Are you a sailor orA negro serenader?”

But still the stricken lad,Aloft or on his pillow,Howled forth in accents sadHis aggravating “Willow!”

Stern love of duty hadBeen JOYCE’S chiefest beauty;Says he, “I love that lad,But duty, damme! duty!

“Twelve months’ black-hole, I say,Where daylight never flashes;And always twice a dayA good six dozen lashes!”

But JOSEPH had a mate,A sailor stout and lusty,A man of low estate,But singularly trusty.

Says he, “Cheer hup, young JOE!I’ll tell you what I’m arter—To that Fust Lord I’ll goAnd ax him for his darter.

“To that Fust Lord I’ll goAnd say you love her dearly.”And JOE said (weeping low),“I wish you would, sincerely!”

That sailor to that LordWent, soon as he had landed,And of his own accordAn interview demanded.

Says he, with seaman’s roll,“My Captain (wot’s a Tartar)Guv JOE twelve months’ black-hole,For lovering your darter.

“He loves MISS LADY JANE(I own she is his betters),But if you’ll jine them twain,They’ll free him from his fetters.

“And if so be as howYou’ll let her come aboard ship,I’ll take her with me now.”“Get out!” remarked his Lordship.

That honest tar repairedTo JOE upon the billow,And told him how he’d fared.JOE only whispered, “Willow!”

And for that dreadful crime(Young sailors, learn to shun it)He’s working out his time;In six months he’ll have done it.

Words in this poem 20

jane n.: A coin of Genoa; any small coin. [LL. Janua Genoa; L. Genua, also OE. Jean.]
wight n.: A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
skipper n.: One who, or that which, skips.
belay v. t.: To lay on or cover; to adorn. [For senses 1 & 2, D. beleggen to cover, belay; akin to E. pref. be-, and lay to place: for sense 3, OE. beleggen, AS. belecgan. See pref. Be-, and Lay to place.]
banjo n.: A stringed musical instrument having a head and neck like the guitar, and its body like a tambourine. It has five strings, and is played with the fingers and hands.
aboard adv.: On board; into or within a ship or boat; hence, into or within a railway car. [Pref. a- on, in + board.]
serenader n.: One who serenades.
stricken p. p.: Struck; smitten; wounded; as, the stricken deer.
aggravating a.: Making worse or more heinous; as, aggravating circumstances.
chiefest a.: First or foremost; chief; principal. [Superl. of Chief.]
damme n.: A female parent; -- used of beasts, especially of quadrupeds; sometimes applied in contempt to a human mother. [OE. dame mistress, lady; also, mother, dam. See Dame.]
daylight n.: The light of day as opposed to the darkness of night; the light of the sun, as opposed to that of the moon or to artificial light.
singularly adv.: In a singular manner; in a manner, or to a degree, not common to others; extraordinarily; as, to be singularly exact in one's statements; singularly considerate of others.
fust v. i.: To become moldy; to smell ill.
darter n.: One who darts, or who throw darts; that which darts.
sincerely adv.: In a sincere manner. Specifically: (a) Purely; without alloy.
went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
twain a.: Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
billow n.: A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. bölge, Sw. bölja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.]
dreadful a.: Full of dread or terror; fearful.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Ballad is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Bab Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #931; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: W. S. Gilbert, Ballad, in The Bab Ballads (1869), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #931, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/gilbert-bab-ballads/ballad.html, id L02406.

Form and metre

Ballad is 74 lines in 17 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 12 of its 17 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.2 syllables. 23 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 trimeter.

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 ABABAAB sea^A · willow^B · lee^A · willow^B · cry^A · me^A · willow^B
2 ABAB-AB quite^A · willow^B · wight^A · willow^B · mast · right^A · willow^B
3 ABAB joyce^A · rating^B · voice^A · expostulating^B
4 ABAB do^A · joe^B · you^A · banjo^B
5 ABAB lor^A · trader^B · or^A · serenader^B
6 A-A- lad^A · pillow · sad^A · willow
7 ABAB had^A · beauty^B · lad^A · duty^B
8 ABAB say^A · flashes^B · day^A · lashes^B
9 ABAB mate^A · lusty^B · estate^A · trusty^B
10 ABAB joe^A · arter^B · go^A · darter^B
11 ABAB go^A · dearly^B · low^A · sincerely^B
12 ABAB lord^A · landed^B · accord^A · demanded^B
13 ABAB roll^A · tartar^B · hole^A · darter^B
14 ABAB jane^A · betters^B · twain^A · fetters^B
15 A-A- how^A · ship · now^A · lordship
16 A-A- repaired^A · billow · fared^A · willow
17 ABAB crime^A · it^B · time^A · it^B

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 trimeter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
The moon is on the sea,	6	······
Willow!	2	/·
The wind blows towards the lee,	7	·······
Willow!	2	/·
But though I sigh and sob and cry,	8	········
No Lady Jane for me,	6	·/˘···
Willow!	2	/·
She says, “’Twere folly quite,	6	···/˘·
Willow!	2	/·
For me to wed a wight,	6	······
Willow!	2	/·
Whose lot is cast before the mast”;	8	········
And possibly she’s right,	6	·/˘˘··
Willow!	2	/·
His skipper (CAPTAIN JOYCE),	6	·/˘/˘·
He gave him many a rating,	8	···/˘·/˘
And almost lost his voice	6	·/····
From thus expostulating:	7	·······
“Lay aft, you lubber, do!	6	···/˘·
What’s come to that young man, JOE?	7	·······
Belay!—’vast heaving! you!	6	˘/·/˘·
Do kindly stop that banjo!	7	·/˘··/·
“I wish, I do—O lor’!—	6	······
You’d shipped aboard a trader:	8	··˘˘/·/˘
Are you a sailor or	6	···/˘·
A negro serenader?”	7	·/˘····
But still the stricken lad,	6	···/˘·
Aloft or on his pillow,	7	˘/···/˘
Howled forth in accents sad	7	·˘··/˘·
His aggravating “Willow!”	7	·/˘·˘/·
Stern love of duty had	6	···/˘·
Been JOYCE’S chiefest beauty;	7	·/˘/˘/˘
Says he, “I love that lad,	6	······
But duty, damme! duty!	6	·/˘·/˘
“Twelve months’ black-hole, I say,	6	······
Where daylight never flashes;	7	·/·/˘/˘
And always twice a day	6	·/····
A good six dozen lashes!”	7	···/˘/˘
But JOSEPH had a mate,	6	·/˘···
A sailor stout and lusty,	7	·/˘··/˘
A man of low estate,	6	····˘/
But singularly trusty.	7	·/˘˘˘/˘
Says he, “Cheer hup, young JOE!	6	······
I’ll tell you what I’m arter—	7	·····/˘
To that Fust Lord I’ll go	6	······
And ax him for his darter.	7	·····/˘
“To that Fust Lord I’ll go	6	······
And say you love her dearly.”	7	·····/˘
And JOE said (weeping low),	6	···/˘·
“I wish you would, sincerely!”	7	····˘/˘
That sailor to that Lord	6	·/˘···
Went, soon as he had landed,	7	·····/˘
And of his own accord	6	····˘/
An interview demanded.	7	·/˘·˘/˘
Says he, with seaman’s roll,	6	···/˘·
“My Captain (wot’s a Tartar)	7	·/˘··/˘
Guv JOE twelve months’ black-hole,	6	······
For lovering your darter.	7	·/˘˘·/˘
“He loves MISS LADY JANE	6	···/˘·
(I own she is his betters),	7	·····/˘
But if you’ll jine them twain,	6	······
They’ll free him from his fetters.	7	·····/˘
“And if so be as how	6	······
You’ll let her come aboard ship,	7	····˘/·
I’ll take her with me now.”	6	······
“Get out!” remarked his Lordship.	8	··˘/˘·/˘
That honest tar repaired	7	·/˘·˘/˘
To JOE upon the billow,	7	·····/˘
And told him how he’d fared.	7	······˘
JOE only whispered, “Willow!”	8	·/˘/˘˘/·
And for that dreadful crime	6	···/˘·
(Young sailors, learn to shun it)	7	·/˘····
He’s working out his time;	6	·/˘···
In six months he’ll have done it.	7	·······

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.

More by W. S. Gilbert

The Bab Ballads