'Possum Song
'Simmons ripenin' in de fall,You better run,Brudder 'Possum, run!Mockin' bird commence to call,You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!Run some whar an' hide!Ole moon am sinkin'Down behin' de tree.Ole Eph am thinkin'An' chuckelin' wid glee.Ole Tige am blinkin'An' frisky as kin be,Yo' chances, Brudder 'Possum,Look mighty slim to me.
Run, run, run, I tell you,Run, Brudder 'Possum, run!Run, run, run, I tell you,Ole Eph's got a gun.Pickaninnies grinnin'Waitin' fu' to see de fun.You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!Run, Brudder 'Possum, run!
Brudder 'Possum take a tip;You better run,Brudder 'Possum, run!'Tain't no use in actin' flip,You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!Run some whar an' hide.Dey's gwine to houn' youAll along de line,W'en dey done foun' you,Den what's de use in sighin'?Wid taters roun' you.You sholy would tase fine--So listen, Brudder 'Possum,You better be a-flyin'.
Run, run, run, I tell you,Run, Brudder 'Possum, run!Run, run, run, I tell you,Ole Eph's got a gun.Pickaninnies grinnin'Waitin' fu' to see de fun.You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!Run, Brudder 'Possum, run!
Words in this poem
- glee n.
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
- flip n.
- A mixture of beer, spirit, etc., stirred and heated by a hot iron. Flip dog, an iron used, when heated, to warm flip. [Cf. Prov. E. flip nimble, flippant, also, a slight blow. Cf. Flippant.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
'Possum Song is in the public domain. This text is taken from Fifty Years, & Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #17884; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Weldon Johnson, 'Possum Song, in Fifty Years and Other Poems (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17884, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/johnson-fifty-years/possum-song.html, id L08345.
Form and metre
'Possum Song is 46 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is trochaic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.6 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABBACC-DEDEDE-E fallA · runB · runB · callA · wayC · wayC · hide · sinkinD · treeE · thinkinD · gleeE · blinkinD · beE · possum · meE
- 2 ABAB-B-B youA · runB · youA · gunB · grinnin · funB · way · runB
- 3 ABBACC-DED-DE-- tipA · runB · runB · flipA · wayC · wayC · hide · youD · lineE · youD · sighin · youD · fineE · possum · flyin
- 4 ABAB-B-B youA · runB · youA · gunB · grinnin · funB · way · runB
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 trochaic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| 'Simmons ripenin' in de fall, | 8 | /˘······ |
| You better run, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Brudder 'Possum, run! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Mockin' bird commence to call, | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way! | 12 | ·/˘···/˘···· |
| You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way! | 12 | ·/˘···/˘···· |
| Run some whar an' hide! | 5 | ····· |
| Ole moon am sinkin' | 5 | ····· |
| Down behin' de tree. | 5 | ····· |
| Ole Eph am thinkin' | 5 | ···/˘ |
| An' chuckelin' wid glee. | 6 | ······ |
| Ole Tige am blinkin' | 5 | ····· |
| An' frisky as kin be, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Yo' chances, Brudder 'Possum, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Look mighty slim to me. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Run, run, run, I tell you, | 6 | ······ |
| Run, Brudder 'Possum, run! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Run, run, run, I tell you, | 6 | ······ |
| Ole Eph's got a gun. | 5 | ····· |
| Pickaninnies grinnin' | 5 | ····· |
| Waitin' fu' to see de fun. | 7 | /˘····· |
| You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way! | 12 | ·/˘···/˘···· |
| Run, Brudder 'Possum, run! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Brudder 'Possum take a tip; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| You better run, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Brudder 'Possum, run! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| 'Tain't no use in actin' flip, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way! | 12 | ·/˘···/˘···· |
| You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way! | 12 | ·/˘···/˘···· |
| Run some whar an' hide. | 5 | ····· |
| Dey's gwine to houn' you | 5 | ····· |
| All along de line, | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| W'en dey done foun' you, | 5 | ····· |
| Den what's de use in sighin'? | 7 | ······· |
| Wid taters roun' you. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| You sholy would tase fine-- | 6 | ······ |
| So listen, Brudder 'Possum, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| You better be a-flyin'. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Run, run, run, I tell you, | 6 | ······ |
| Run, Brudder 'Possum, run! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Run, run, run, I tell you, | 6 | ······ |
| Ole Eph's got a gun. | 5 | ····· |
| Pickaninnies grinnin' | 5 | ····· |
| Waitin' fu' to see de fun. | 7 | /˘····· |
| You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way! | 12 | ·/˘···/˘···· |
| Run, Brudder 'Possum, run! | 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.