The Gangerel
It’s ye maun whustle for a breezeUntil the sails be fu’;They bigg yon ships that ride the seasTo pleasure fowk like you.
For ye hae siller i’ yer handAnd a’ that gowd can buy,But weary, in a weary land,A gangerel-loon am I.
Ye’ll feel the strang tides lift an’ tossThe scud o’ nor’land faem,And when ye drap the Southern CrossIt’s a’ roads lead ye hame.
And ye shall see the shaws o’ broomWave on the windy hill,Alang the strath the hairst-fields toomAnd syne the stackyairds fill.
Ye’ll hear fu’ mony a raittlin’ cairtOn Forfar’s causey-croon,Wi’ young stirks loupin’ to the MairtThat roars in Forfar toon.
O’ nichts, ayont yer snibbet door,Ye’ll see in changeless band,Abune Craig Oule, to keep Strathmore,The stars of Scotland stand.
But tho’ ye think ye sicht them fineGang ben an’ tak’ yer rest,Frae lands that niver kent their shineIt’s me that sees them best!
For they shall brak’ their ancient trust,Shall rise nae mair nor set,The Sidlaw hills be laid in dustAfore that I forget.
Lowse ye the windy-sneck a wheen,An’ glowre frae ilka airtFegs! Ye may see them wi’ yer een--I see them wi’ my he’rt!
Words in this poem
- bigg n.
- Barley, especially the hardy four-rowed kind. [OE. bif, bigge; akin to Icel. bygg, Dan. byg, Sw. bjugg.]
- strang a.
- Strong. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Halliwell. [See Strong.]
- scud v. i.
- To move swiftly; especially, to move as if driven forward by something. [Dan. skyde to shoot, shove, push, akin to skud shot, gunshot, a shoot, young bough, and to E. shoot. sq. root159. See Shoot.]
- 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,]
- strath n.
- A valley of considerable size, through which a river runs; a valley bottom; -- often used in composition with the name of the river; as, Strath Spey, Strathdon, Strathmore. [Gael. srath.]
- toom a.
- Empty. [Obs. or Prov.Eng. & Scot.] Wyclif. [OE. tom, fr. Icel. tomr; akin to Dan. & Sw. tom, As. tome, adv. Cf. Teem to pour.]
- syne adv.
- Afterwards; since; ago. R. of Brunne. [See Since.]
- causey n.
- A way or road rasid above the natural level of the ground, serving as a dry passage over wet or marshy ground. [OE. cauci, cauchie, OF. cauchie, F. chaussée, from LL. (via) calciata, fr calciare to make a road, either fr. L. calx lime, hence, to pave with limestone (cf. E]
- croon v. i.
- To make a continuous hollow moan, as cattle do when in pain.
- toon n.
- The reddish brown wood of an East Indian tree (Cedrela Toona) closely resembling the Spanish cedar; also. the tree itself. [Hind. tun, tun, Skr. tunna.]
- changeless a.
- That can not be changed; constant; as, a changeless purpose.
- afore prep.
- Before (in all its senses).
- wheen n.
- A quantity; a goodly number. [Cf. AS. hw, hw, a little, somewhat, hw little, few.]
- glowre v. i.
- to look intently; to stare angrily or with a scowl. Thackeray. [Cf. Gloar.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Gangerel is in the public domain. This text is taken from Bonnie Joann, and other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #69484; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Violet Jacob, The Gangerel, in Bonnie Joann, and Other Poems (1921), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #69484, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/jacob-bonnie-joann/the-gangerel.html, id L21947.
Form and metre
The Gangerel is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 7 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 ABAB breezeA · fuB · seasA · youB
- 2 ABAB handA · buyB · landA · iB
- 3 A-A- tossA · faem · crossA · hame
- 4 ABAB broomA · hillB · toomA · fillB
- 5 ABAB cairtA · croonB · mairtA · toonB
- 6 ABAB doorA · bandB · strathmoreA · standB
- 7 ABAB fineA · restB · shineA · bestB
- 8 ABAB trustA · setB · dustA · forgetB
- 9 A-A- wheenA · airt · eenA · he'rt
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 |
|---|---|---|
| It’s ye maun whustle for a breeze | 8 | ········ |
| Until the sails be fu’; | 6 | ······ |
| They bigg yon ships that ride the seas | 8 | ········ |
| To pleasure fowk like you. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| For ye hae siller i’ yer hand | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And a’ that gowd can buy, | 6 | ······ |
| But weary, in a weary land, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A gangerel-loon am I. | 7 | ······· |
| Ye’ll feel the strang tides lift an’ toss | 8 | ········ |
| The scud o’ nor’land faem, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And when ye drap the Southern Cross | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It’s a’ roads lead ye hame. | 6 | ······ |
| And ye shall see the shaws o’ broom | 8 | ········ |
| Wave on the windy hill, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Alang the strath the hairst-fields toom | 8 | ········ |
| And syne the stackyairds fill. | 6 | ······ |
| Ye’ll hear fu’ mony a raittlin’ cairt | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| On Forfar’s causey-croon, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Wi’ young stirks loupin’ to the Mairt | 8 | ········ |
| That roars in Forfar toon. | 6 | ······ |
| O’ nichts, ayont yer snibbet door, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Ye’ll see in changeless band, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Abune Craig Oule, to keep Strathmore, | 9 | ········· |
| The stars of Scotland stand. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But tho’ ye think ye sicht them fine | 8 | ········ |
| Gang ben an’ tak’ yer rest, | 6 | ······ |
| Frae lands that niver kent their shine | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| It’s me that sees them best! | 6 | ······ |
| For they shall brak’ their ancient trust, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Shall rise nae mair nor set, | 6 | ······ |
| The Sidlaw hills be laid in dust | 8 | ········ |
| Afore that I forget. | 6 | ˘/··˘/ |
| Lowse ye the windy-sneck a wheen, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An’ glowre frae ilka airt | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Fegs! Ye may see them wi’ yer een-- | 8 | ········ |
| I see them wi’ my he’rt! | 6 | ······ |
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