The Song of the Shirt
With fingers weary and worn,With eyelids heavy and red,A woman sat, in unwomanly rags,Plying her needle and thread--Stitch! stitch! stitch!In poverty, hunger, and dirt,And still with a voice of dolorous pitchShe sang the "Song of the Shirt."
"Work! work! work!While the cock is crowing aloof!And work--work--work,Till the stars shine through the roof!It's Oh! to be a slaveAlong with the barbarous Turk,Where woman has never a soul to save,If this is Christian work!
"Work--work--workTill the brain begins to swim;Work--work--workTill the eyes are heavy and dim!Seam, and gusset, and band,Band, and gusset, and seam,Till over the buttons I fall asleep,And sew them on in a dream!
"Oh, Men, with Sisters dear!Oh, Men, with Mothers and Wives!It is not linen you're wearing out,But human creatures' lives!Stitch--stitch--stitch,In poverty, hunger, and dirt,Sewing at once, with a double thread,A Shroud as well as a Shirt.
"But why do I talk of Death?That Phantom of grisly bone,I hardly fear his terrible shape,It seems so like my own--It seems so like my own,Because of the fasts I keep;Oh, God! that bread should be so dear,And flesh and blood so cheap!"
"Work--work--work!"My labor never flags;And what are its wages? A bed of straw,A crust of bread--and rags.That shattered roof--and this naked floor--A table--a broken chair--And a wall so blank, my shadow I thankFor sometimes falling there!
"Work--work--work!From weary chime to chime,Work--work--work--As prisoners work for crime!Band, and gusset, and seam,Seam, and gusset, and band,Till the heart is sick, and the brain benumb'd,As well as the weary hand.
"Work--work--work,In the dull December light,And work--work--work,When the weather is warm and bright--While underneath the eavesThe brooding swallows clingAs if to show me their sunny backsAnd twit me with the spring.
"Oh! but to breathe the breathOf the cowslip and primrose sweet--With the sky above my head,And the grass beneath my feet,For only one short hourTo feel as I used to feel,Before I knew the woes of wantAnd the walk that costs a meal!
"Oh! but for one short hour!A respite however brief!No blessed leisure for Love or Hope,But only time for Grief!A little weeping would ease my heart,But in their briny bedMy tears must stop, for every dropHinders needle and thread!"
With fingers weary and worn,With eyelids heavy and red,A woman sat in unwomanly rags,Plying her needle and thread--Stitch! stitch! stitch!In poverty, hunger, and dirt,And still with a voice of dolorous pitch--Would that its tone could reach the Rich!--She sang this "Song of the Shirt!"
Words in this poem
- dolorous a.
- Full of grief; sad; sorrowful; doleful; dismal; as, a dolorous object; dolorous discourses. [L. dolorosus, from dolor: cf. F. douloureux. See Dolor.]
- turk n.
- A member of any of numerous Tartar tribes of Central Asia, etc.; esp., one of the dominant race in Turkey. [Per. Turk; probably of Tartar origin: cf. F. Turc.]
- gusset n.
- A small piece of cloth inserted in a garment, for the purpose of strengthening some part or giving it a tapering enlargement. [F. gousset armpit, fob, gusset, dim. of gousse pod, husk; cf. It. guscio shell, or W. cwysed gore, gusset.]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- chime n.
- The harmonious sound of bells, or of musical instruments. [OE. chimbe, prop., cymbal, OF. cymbe, cymble, in a dialectic form, chymble, F. cymbale, L. cymbalum, fr. Gr. Cymbal.]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- backs n.
- Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
- twit v. t.
- To vex by bringing to notice, or reminding of, a fault, defect, misfortune, or the like; to revile; to reproach; to upbraid; to taunt; as, he twitted his friend of falsehood. [OE. atwiten, AS. ætwitan to reproach, blame; æt at + witan to reproach, blame; originally, to observe, see, hence, to observe what is wrong (cf. the meanings of]
- cowslip n.
- A common flower in England (Primula veris) having yellow blossoms and appearing in early spring. It is often cultivated in the United States. [AS. c, c, prob. orig., cow's droppings. Cf. Slop, n.]
- briny a.
- Of or pertaining to brine, or to the sea; partaking of the nature of brine; salt; as, a briny taste; the briny flood. [From Brine.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Song of the Shirt 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, The Song of the Shirt, 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/the-song-of-the-shirt.html, id L20109.
Form and metre
The Song of the Shirt is 89 lines in 11 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
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 -A-ABCBC worn · redA · rags · threadA · stitchB · dirtC · pitchB · shirtC
- 2 ABABCACA workA · aloofB · workA · roofB · slaveC · turkA · saveC · workA
- 3 ABAB-C-C workA · swimB · workA · dimB · band · seamC · asleep · dreamC
- 4 -A-A-B-B dear · wivesA · out · livesA · stitch · dirtB · thread · shirtB
- 5 -A-AAB-B death · boneA · shape · ownA · ownA · keepB · dear · cheapB
- 6 -A-A-B-B work · flagsA · straw · ragsA · floor · chairB · thank · thereB
- 7 ABAB-C-C workA · chimeB · workA · crimeB · seam · bandC · benumb'd · handC
- 8 ABAB-C-C workA · lightB · workA · brightB · eaves · clingC · backs · springC
- 9 -A-A-B-B breath · sweetA · head · feetA · hour · feelB · want · mealB
- 10 -A-A-B-B hour · briefA · hope · griefA · heart · bedB · drop · threadB
- 11 -A-ABCBBC worn · redA · rags · threadA · stitchB · dirtC · pitchB · richB · shirtC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| With fingers weary and worn, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| With eyelids heavy and red, | 7 | ·/·/˘·· |
| A woman sat, in unwomanly rags, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Plying her needle and thread-- | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| Stitch! stitch! stitch! | 3 | ··· |
| In poverty, hunger, and dirt, | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘·· |
| And still with a voice of dolorous pitch | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| She sang the "Song of the Shirt." | 7 | ······· |
| "Work! work! work! | 3 | ··· |
| While the cock is crowing aloof! | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| And work--work--work, | 4 | ···· |
| Till the stars shine through the roof! | 7 | ······· |
| It's Oh! to be a slave | 6 | ······ |
| Along with the barbarous Turk, | 8 | ˘/··/˘˘· |
| Where woman has never a soul to save, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| If this is Christian work! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| "Work--work--work | 3 | ··· |
| Till the brain begins to swim; | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Work--work--work | 3 | ··· |
| Till the eyes are heavy and dim! | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Seam, and gusset, and band, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Band, and gusset, and seam, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Till over the buttons I fall asleep, | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| And sew them on in a dream! | 7 | ······· |
| "Oh, Men, with Sisters dear! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Oh, Men, with Mothers and Wives! | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| It is not linen you're wearing out, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| But human creatures' lives! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Stitch--stitch--stitch, | 3 | ··· |
| In poverty, hunger, and dirt, | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘·· |
| Sewing at once, with a double thread, | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| A Shroud as well as a Shirt. | 7 | ······· |
| "But why do I talk of Death? | 7 | ······· |
| That Phantom of grisly bone, | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| I hardly fear his terrible shape, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| It seems so like my own-- | 6 | ······ |
| It seems so like my own, | 6 | ······ |
| Because of the fasts I keep; | 7 | ······· |
| Oh, God! that bread should be so dear, | 8 | ········ |
| And flesh and blood so cheap!" | 6 | ······ |
| "Work--work--work!" | 3 | ··· |
| My labor never flags; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And what are its wages? A bed of straw, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| A crust of bread--and rags. | 6 | ······ |
| That shattered roof--and this naked floor-- | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘· |
| A table--a broken chair-- | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| And a wall so blank, my shadow I thank | 10 | ······/··· |
| For sometimes falling there! | 6 | ·/·/˘· |
| "Work--work--work! | 3 | ··· |
| From weary chime to chime, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Work--work--work-- | 3 | ··· |
| As prisoners work for crime! | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Band, and gusset, and seam, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Seam, and gusset, and band, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Till the heart is sick, and the brain benumb'd, | 10 | ·········· |
| As well as the weary hand. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "Work--work--work, | 3 | ··· |
| In the dull December light, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| And work--work--work, | 4 | ···· |
| When the weather is warm and bright-- | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| While underneath the eaves | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| The brooding swallows cling | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| As if to show me their sunny backs | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And twit me with the spring. | 6 | ······ |
| "Oh! but to breathe the breath | 6 | ······ |
| Of the cowslip and primrose sweet-- | 8 | ··/˘·/·· |
| With the sky above my head, | 7 | ······· |
| And the grass beneath my feet, | 7 | ······· |
| For only one short hour | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| To feel as I used to feel, | 7 | ······· |
| Before I knew the woes of want | 8 | ········ |
| And the walk that costs a meal! | 7 | ······· |
| "Oh! but for one short hour! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| A respite however brief! | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| No blessed leisure for Love or Hope, | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| But only time for Grief! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A little weeping would ease my heart, | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| But in their briny bed | 6 | ···/˘· |
| My tears must stop, for every drop | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Hinders needle and thread!" | 6 | /˘/˘·· |
| With fingers weary and worn, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| With eyelids heavy and red, | 7 | ·/·/˘·· |
| A woman sat in unwomanly rags, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Plying her needle and thread-- | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| Stitch! stitch! stitch! | 3 | ··· |
| In poverty, hunger, and dirt, | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘·· |
| And still with a voice of dolorous pitch-- | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| Would that its tone could reach the Rich!-- | 8 | ········ |
| She sang this "Song of the Shirt!" | 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.