The Glass on the Bar
Three bushmen one morning rode up to an inn,And one of them called for the drinks with a grin;They'd only returned from a trip to the North,And, eager to greet them, the landlord came forth.He absently poured out a glass of Three Star.And set down that drink with the rest on the bar.
'There, that is for Harry,' he said, 'and it's queer,'Tis the very same glass that he drank from last year;His name's on the glass, you can read it like print,He scratched it himself with an old piece of flint;I remember his drink -- it was always Three Star' --And the landlord looked out through the door of the bar.
He looked at the horses, and counted but three:'You were always together -- where's Harry?' cried he.Oh, sadly they looked at the glass as they said,'You may put it away, for our old mate is dead;'But one, gazing out o'er the ridges afar,Said, 'We owe him a shout -- leave the glass on the bar.'
They thought of the far-away grave on the plain,They thought of the comrade who came not again,They lifted their glasses, and sadly they said:'We drink to the name of the mate who is dead.'And the sunlight streamed in, and a light like a starSeemed to glow in the depth of the glass on the bar.
And still in that shanty a tumbler is seen,It stands by the clock, ever polished and clean;And often the strangers will read as they passThe name of a bushman engraved on the glass;And though on the shelf but a dozen there are,That glass never stands with the rest on the bar.
Words in this poem
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- grin n.
- A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
- absently adv.
- In an absent or abstracted manner.
- harry v. i.
- To make a predatory incursion; to plunder or lay waste.
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- sadly adv.
- Wearily; heavily; firmly.
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- shanty n.
- A small, mean dwelling; a rough, slight building for temporary use; a hut. [Said to be fr. Ir. sean old + tig. a house.]
- bushman n.
- A woodsman; a settler in the bush. [Cf. D. boschman, boschjesman. See 1st Bush.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Glass on the Bar is in the public domain. This text is taken from In the Days When the World Was Wide, and Other Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #214; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Lawson, The Glass on the Bar, in In the Days When the World Was Wide (1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #214, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lawson-world-was-wide/the-glass-on-the-bar.html, id L23214.
Form and metre
The Glass on the Bar is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABBCC. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
See other poems in anapaestic 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 AABBCC innA · grinA · northB · forthB · starC · barC
- 2 AABBCC queerA · yearA · printB · flintB · starC · barC
- 3 AABBCC threeA · heA · saidB · deadB · afarC · barC
- 4 AABBCC plainA · againA · saidB · deadB · starC · barC
- 5 AABBCC seenA · cleanA · passB · glassB · areC · barC
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Three bushmen one morning rode up to an inn, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| And one of them called for the drinks with a grin; | 11 | ··········· |
| They'd only returned from a trip to the North, | 11 | ·/˘˘/······ |
| And, eager to greet them, the landlord came forth. | 11 | ·/˘····/··· |
| He absently poured out a glass of Three Star. | 11 | ·/˘˘······· |
| And set down that drink with the rest on the bar. | 11 | ··········· |
| 'There, that is for Harry,' he said, 'and it's queer, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| 'Tis the very same glass that he drank from last year; | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| His name's on the glass, you can read it like print, | 11 | ··········· |
| He scratched it himself with an old piece of flint; | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| I remember his drink -- it was always Three Star' -- | 12 | ·˘/˘····/··· |
| And the landlord looked out through the door of the bar. | 12 | ··/········· |
| He looked at the horses, and counted but three: | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| 'You were always together -- where's Harry?' cried he. | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Oh, sadly they looked at the glass as they said, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| 'You may put it away, for our old mate is dead;' | 12 | ····˘/·/···· |
| But one, gazing out o'er the ridges afar, | 11 | ··/˘···/˘˘/ |
| Said, 'We owe him a shout -- leave the glass on the bar.' | 12 | ············ |
| They thought of the far-away grave on the plain, | 11 | ·····˘/···· |
| They thought of the comrade who came not again, | 11 | ····/····˘/ |
| They lifted their glasses, and sadly they said: | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| 'We drink to the name of the mate who is dead.' | 11 | ··········· |
| And the sunlight streamed in, and a light like a star | 12 | ··/········· |
| Seemed to glow in the depth of the glass on the bar. | 12 | ············ |
| And still in that shanty a tumbler is seen, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| It stands by the clock, ever polished and clean; | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| And often the strangers will read as they pass | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| The name of a bushman engraved on the glass; | 11 | ····/˘˘/··· |
| And though on the shelf but a dozen there are, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| That glass never stands with the rest on the bar. | 11 | ··/˘······· |
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