To D. H
O, FALMOUTH is a fine town with ships in the bay,And I wish from my heart it’s there I was to-day;I wish from my heart I was far away from here,Sitting in my parlour and talking to my dear.For it’s home, dearie, home—it’s home I want to be.Our topsails are hoisted, and we’ll away to sea.O, the oak and the ash and the bonnie birken treeThey’re all growing green in the old countrie.
In Baltimore a-walking a lady I did meetWith her babe on her arm, as she came down the street;And I thought how I sailed, and the cradle standing readyFor the pretty little babe that has never seen its daddie.And it’s home, dearie, home . . .
O, if it be a lass, she shall wear a golden ring;And if it be a lad, he shall fight for his king:With his dirk and his hat and his little jacket blueHe shall walk the quarter-deck as his daddie used to do.And it’s home, dearie, home . . .
O, there’s a wind a-blowing, a-blowing from the west,And that of all the winds is the one I like the best,For it blows at our backs, and it shakes our pennon free,And it soon will blow us home to the old countrie.For it’s home, dearie, home—it’s home I want to be.Our topsails are hoisted, and we’ll away to sea.O, the oak and the ash and the bonnie birken treeThey’re all growing green in the old countrie.
Words in this poem
- birken v. t.
- To whip with a birch or rod. [From 1st Birk.]
- babe n.
- An infant; a young child of either sex; a baby. [Cf. Ir. bab, baban, W. baban, maban.]
- 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.]
- 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,]
- dirk n.
- A kind of dagger or poniard; -- formerly much used by the Scottish Highlander. Dirk knife, a clasp knife having a large, dirklike blade. [Ir. duirc.]
- backs n.
- Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
- pennon n.
- A wing; a pinion. [Cf. Pinion.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To D. H is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #1568; 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. E. Henley, To D. H, in Poems (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1568, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/henley-poems/to-d-h.html, id L12415.
Form and metre
To D. H is 26 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 62% of the lines. The metre is iambic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 75%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic hexameter.
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 AABBCCC- bayA · dayA · hereB · dearB · beC · seaC · treeC · countrie
- 2 AA--- meetA · streetA · ready · daddie · home
- 3 AABB- ringA · kingA · blueB · doB · home
- 4 AABCBBBC westA · bestA · freeB · countrieC · beB · seaB · treeB · countrieC
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 hexameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O, FALMOUTH is a fine town with ships in the bay, | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| And I wish from my heart it’s there I was to-day; | 12 | ············ |
| I wish from my heart I was far away from here, | 12 | ········˘/·· |
| Sitting in my parlour and talking to my dear. | 12 | /˘··/˘·/˘··· |
| For it’s home, dearie, home—it’s home I want to be. | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| Our topsails are hoisted, and we’ll away to sea. | 12 | /···/˘··˘/·· |
| O, the oak and the ash and the bonnie birken tree | 13 | ········/˘/˘· |
| They’re all growing green in the old countrie. | 9 | ··/······ |
| In Baltimore a-walking a lady I did meet | 13 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘··· |
| With her babe on her arm, as she came down the street; | 12 | ············ |
| And I thought how I sailed, and the cradle standing ready | 14 | ········/˘/˘/˘ |
| For the pretty little babe that has never seen its daddie. | 14 | ··/˘/˘···/···· |
| And it’s home, dearie, home . . . | 6 | ···/˘· |
| O, if it be a lass, she shall wear a golden ring; | 13 | ··········/˘· |
| And if it be a lad, he shall fight for his king: | 12 | ············ |
| With his dirk and his hat and his little jacket blue | 13 | ········/˘/˘· |
| He shall walk the quarter-deck as his daddie used to do. | 14 | ····/˘········ |
| And it’s home, dearie, home . . . | 6 | ···/˘· |
| O, there’s a wind a-blowing, a-blowing from the west, | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| And that of all the winds is the one I like the best, | 13 | ············· |
| For it blows at our backs, and it shakes our pennon free, | 13 | ····/····//˘· |
| And it soon will blow us home to the old countrie. | 12 | ············ |
| For it’s home, dearie, home—it’s home I want to be. | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| Our topsails are hoisted, and we’ll away to sea. | 12 | /···/˘··˘/·· |
| O, the oak and the ash and the bonnie birken tree | 13 | ········/˘/˘· |
| They’re all growing green in the old countrie. | 9 | ··/······ |
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