An Old Ballad
Young Ben he was a nice young man,A carpenter by trade;And he fell in love with Sally Brown,That was a lady's maid.
But as they fetch'd a walk one day,They met a press-gang crew;And Sally she did faint away,Whilst Ben he was brought to.
The Boatswain swore with wicked words,Enough to shock a saint.That though she did seem in a fit,'Twas nothing but a feint.
"Come, girl," said he, "hold up your head,He'll be as good as me;For when your swain is in our boat,A boatswain he will be."
So when they'd made their game of her,And taken off her elf,She roused, and found she only wasA coming to herself.
"And is he gone, and is he gone?"She cried, and wept outright:"Then I will to the water-side,And see him out of sight."
A waterman came up to her,--"Now, young woman," said he,"If you weep on so, you will makeEye-water in the sea."
"Alas! they've taken my beau, Ben,To sail with old Benbow";And her woe began to run afresh,As if she'd said Gee woe!
Says he, "They've only taken himTo the Tender-ship, you see";--"The Tender-ship," cried Sally Brown,What a hard-ship that must be!
"O! would I were a mermaid now,For then I'd follow him;But, oh! I'm not a fish-woman,And so I cannot swim.
"Alas! I was not born beneath'The virgin and the scales,'So I must curse my cruel stars,And walk about in Wales,"
Now Ben had sail'd to many a placeThat's underneath the world;But in two years the ship came home,And all the sails were furl'd.
But when he call'd on Sally Brown,To see how she went on,He found she'd got another Ben,Whose Christian name was John.
"O Sally Brown, O Sally Brown,How could you serve me so,I've met with many a breeze before,But never such a blow!"
Then reading on his 'bacco box,He heaved a heavy sigh,And then began to eye his pipe,And then to pipe his eye.
And then he tried to sing "All's Well,"But could not, though he tried;His head was turn'd, and so he chew'dHis pigtail till he died.
His death, which happen'd in his berth,At forty-odd befell:They went and told the sexton, andThe sexton toll'd the bell.
Words in this poem
- boatswain n.
- An officer who has charge of the boats, sails, rigging, colors, anchors, cables, cordage, etc., of a ship, and who also summons the crew, and performs other duties. [Boat + swain.]
- feint a.
- Feigned; counterfeit. [F. feint, p.p. of feindre to feign. See Feign.]
- outright adv.
- Immediately; without delay; at once; as, he was killed outright.
- waterman n.
- A man who plies for hire on rivers, lakes, or canals, or in harbors, in distinction from a seaman who is engaged on the high seas; a man who manages fresh-water craft; a boatman; a ferryman.
- afresh adv.
- Anew; again; once more; newly. [Pref. a- + fresh.]
- mermaid n.
- A fabled marine creature, typically represented as having the upper part like that of a woman, and the lower like a fish; a sea nymph, sea woman, or woman fish. [AS. mere lake, sea. See Mere lake, and maid.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- pigtail n.
- The tail of a pig.
- berth v. t.
- To give an anchorage to, or a place to lie at; to place in a berth; as, she was berthed stem to stern with the Adelaide.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Old Ballad is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood, Project Gutenberg ebook #15652; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Hood, An Old Ballad, in The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems (1826–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15652, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poetical-works/an-old-ballad.html, id L20131.
Form and metre
An Old Ballad is 68 lines in 17 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 -A-A man · tradeA · brown · maidA
- 2 ABAB dayA · crewB · awayA · toB
- 3 -A-A words · saintA · fit · feintA
- 4 -A-A head · meA · boat · beA
- 5 -A-A her · elfA · was · herselfA
- 6 -A-A gone · outrightA · side · sightA
- 7 -A-A her · heA · make · seaA
- 9 -A-A him · seeA · brown · beA
- 10 -A-A now · himA · woman · swimA
- 11 -A-A beneath · scalesA · stars · walesA
- 12 -A-A place · worldA · home · furl'dA
- 13 -A-A brown · onA · ben · johnA
- 14 -A-A brown · soA · before · blowA
- 15 -A-A box · sighA · pipe · eyeA
- 16 -A-A well · triedA · chew'd · diedA
- 17 -A-A berth · befellA · and · bellA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Young Ben he was a nice young man, | 8 | ········ |
| A carpenter by trade; | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| And he fell in love with Sally Brown, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| That was a lady's maid. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But as they fetch'd a walk one day, | 8 | ········ |
| They met a press-gang crew; | 6 | ······ |
| And Sally she did faint away, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Whilst Ben he was brought to. | 6 | ······ |
| The Boatswain swore with wicked words, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Enough to shock a saint. | 6 | ˘/···· |
| That though she did seem in a fit, | 8 | ········ |
| 'Twas nothing but a feint. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Come, girl," said he, "hold up your head, | 8 | ········ |
| He'll be as good as me; | 6 | ······ |
| For when your swain is in our boat, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| A boatswain he will be." | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| So when they'd made their game of her, | 8 | ········ |
| And taken off her elf, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| She roused, and found she only was | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A coming to herself. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| "And is he gone, and is he gone?" | 8 | ········ |
| She cried, and wept outright: | 6 | ····// |
| "Then I will to the water-side, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And see him out of sight." | 6 | ······ |
| A waterman came up to her,-- | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| "Now, young woman," said he, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| "If you weep on so, you will make | 8 | ········ |
| Eye-water in the sea." | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Alas! they've taken my beau, Ben, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| To sail with old Benbow"; | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And her woe began to run afresh, | 9 | ···˘/··˘/ |
| As if she'd said Gee woe! | 6 | ······ |
| Says he, "They've only taken him | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| To the Tender-ship, you see";-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| "The Tender-ship," cried Sally Brown, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| What a hard-ship that must be! | 7 | ······· |
| "O! would I were a mermaid now, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| For then I'd follow him; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But, oh! I'm not a fish-woman, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And so I cannot swim. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| "Alas! I was not born beneath | 8 | ˘/······ |
| 'The virgin and the scales,' | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| So I must curse my cruel stars, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And walk about in Wales," | 6 | ······ |
| Now Ben had sail'd to many a place | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| That's underneath the world; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| But in two years the ship came home, | 8 | ········ |
| And all the sails were furl'd. | 6 | ······ |
| But when he call'd on Sally Brown, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To see how she went on, | 6 | ······ |
| He found she'd got another Ben, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Whose Christian name was John. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "O Sally Brown, O Sally Brown, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| How could you serve me so, | 6 | ······ |
| I've met with many a breeze before, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| But never such a blow!" | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Then reading on his 'bacco box, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He heaved a heavy sigh, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And then began to eye his pipe, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And then to pipe his eye. | 6 | ······ |
| And then he tried to sing "All's Well," | 8 | ········ |
| But could not, though he tried; | 6 | ······ |
| His head was turn'd, and so he chew'd | 8 | ········ |
| His pigtail till he died. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| His death, which happen'd in his berth, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| At forty-odd befell: | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| They went and told the sexton, and | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The sexton toll'd the bell. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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.