The Yerl o' Waterydeck
The wind it blew, and the ship it flew,And it was "Hey for hame!"But up an' cried the skipper til his crew,"Haud her oot ower the saut sea faem."
Syne up an' spak the angry king:"Haud on for Dumferline!"Quo' the skipper, "My lord, this maunna be--I'm king on this boat o' mine!"
He tuik the helm intil his han',He left the shore un'er the lee;Syne croodit sail, an', east an' south,Stude awa richt oot to sea.
Quo' the king, "Leise-majesty, I trow!Here lies some ill-set plan!'Bout ship!" Quo' the skipper, "Yer grace forgetsYe are king but o' the lan'!"
Oot he heild to the open seaQuhill the north wind flaughtered an' fell;Syne the east had a bitter word to sayThat waukent a watery hell.
He turnt her heid intil the north:Quo' the nobles, "He s' droon, by the mass!"Quo' the skipper, "Haud afif yer lady-ban'sOr ye'll never see the Bass."
The king creepit down the cabin-stairTo drink the gude French wine;An' up cam his dochter, the princess fair,An' luikit ower the brine.
She turnt her face to the drivin snaw,To the snaw but and the weet;It claucht her snood, an' awa like a dudHer hair drave oot i' the sleet.
She turnt her face frae the drivin win'--"Quhat's that aheid?" quo' she.The skipper he threw himsel frae the win'An' he brayt the helm alee.
"Put to yer han', my lady fair!Haud up her heid!" quo' he;"Gien she dinna face the win' a wee mairIt's faurweel to you an' me!"
To the tiller the lady she laid her han',An' the ship brayt her cheek to the blast;They joukit the berg, but her quarter scraped,An' they luikit at ither aghast.
Quo' the skipper, "Ye are a lady fair,An' a princess gran' to see,But war ye a beggar, a man wud sailTo the hell i' yer company!"
She liftit a pale an' a queenly face,Her een flashed, an' syne they swam:"An' what for no to the hevin?" she says,An' she turnt awa frae him.
Bot she tuik na her han' frae the gude ship's helmTill the day begouth to daw;An' the skipper he spak, but what was saidIt was said atween them twa.
An' syne the gude ship she lay to,Wi' Scotlan' hyne un'er the lee;An' the king cam up the cabin-stairWi' wan face an' bluidshot ee.
Laigh loutit the skipper upo' the deck;"Stan' up, stan' up," quo' the king;"Ye're an honest loun--an' beg me a boonQuhan ye gie me back this ring."
Lowne blew the win'; the stars cam oot;The ship turnt frae the north;An' or ever the sun was up an' abootThey war intil the firth o' Forth.
Quhan the gude ship lay at the pier-heid,And the king stude steady o' the lan',--"Doon wi' ye, skipper--doon!" he said,"Hoo daur ye afore me stan'!"
The skipper he loutit on his knee;The king his blade he drew:Quo' the king, "Noo mynt ye to centre me!I'm aboord my vessel noo!
"Gien I hadna been yer verra gude lordI wud hae thrawn yer neck!Bot--ye wha loutit Skipper o' Doon,Rise up Yerl o' Waterydeck."
The skipper he rasena: "Yer Grace is great,Yer wull it can heize or ding:Wi' ae wee word ye hae made me a yerl--Wi' anither mak me a king."
"I canna mak ye a king," quo' he,"The Lord alane can do that!I snowk leise-majesty, my man!Quhat the Sathan wad ye be at?"
Glowert at the skipper the doutsum kingJalousin aneth his croon;Quo' the skipper, "Here is yer Grace's ring--An' yer dochter is my boon!"
The black blude shot intil the king's faceHe wasna bonny to see:"The rascal skipper! he lichtlies oor grace!--Gar hang him heigh on yon tree."
Up sprang the skipper an' aboord his ship,Cleikit up a bytin bladeAn' hackit at the cable that held her to the pier,An' thoucht it 'maist ower weel made.
The king he blew shill in a siller whustle;An' tramp, tramp, doon the pierCam twenty men on twenty horses,Clankin wi' spur an' spear.
At the king's fute fell his dochter fair:"His life ye wadna spill!""Ye daur stan' twixt my hert an' my hate?""I daur, wi' a richt gude will!"
"Ye was aye to yer faither a thrawart bairn,But, my lady, here stan's the king!Luikna him i' the angry face--A monarch's anither thing!"
"I lout to my father for his graceLow on my bendit knee;But I stan' an' luik the king i' the face,For the skipper is king o' me!"
She turnt, she sprang upo' the deck,The cable splashed i' the Forth,Her wings sae braid the gude ship spreadAnd flew east, an' syne flew north.
Now was not this a king's dochter--A lady that feared no skaith?A woman wi' quhilk a man micht sailProod intil the Port o' Death?
Words in this poem 24
- skipper n.
- One who, or that which, skips.
- syne adv.
- Afterwards; since; ago. R. of Brunne. [See Since.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- trow v. i.
- To believe; to trust; to think or suppose. [OE. trowen, AS.treówan to trust, believe, fr. treów trust, treówe true, faithful. See True.]
- princess n.
- A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.]
- weet v. i.
- To know; to wit. Tyndale. [See Wit to know.]
- snood n.
- The fillet which binds the hair of a young unmarried woman, and is emblematic of her maiden character. [AS. sn. Cf. Snare.]
- drave
- , old imp. of Drive.
- sleet n.
- The part of a mortar extending from the chamber to the trunnions.
- berg n.
- A large mass or hill, as of ice. [sq. root95. See Barrow hill, and cf. Iceberg.]
- queenly a.
- Like, becoming, or suitable to, a queen. [AS. cwenlic feminine.]
- atween adv.
- Between. Spenser. [See Atwain, and cf. Between.]
- hyne n.
- A servant. See Hine.
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- firth n.
- An arm of the sea; a frith. [Scot. See Frith.]
- afore prep.
- Before (in all its senses).
- centre v. i.
- To be placed in a center; to be central.
- ding v. t.
- To dash; to throw violently. [OE. dingen, dengen; akin to AS. dencgan to knock, Icel. dengja to beat, hammer, Sw. dänga, G. dengeln.]
- canna n.
- A measure of length in Italy, varying from six to seven feet. [It.]
- croon v. i.
- To make a continuous hollow moan, as cattle do when in pain.
- bonny a.
- Handsome; beautiful; pretty; attractively lively and graceful. [OE. boni, prob. fr. F. bon, fem. bonne, good, fr. L. bonus good. See Bounty, and cf. Bonus, Boon.]
- weel
- A kind of trap or snare for fish, made of twigs. Carew. [Prov. E. weel, weal, a wicker basket to catch eels; prob. akin to willow, and so called as made of willow twigs.]
- shill v. t.
- To put under cover; to sheal. [Prov.ng.] Brockett. [Cf. Sheal.]
- spill n.
- A bit of wood split off; a splinter. [sq. root170. Cf. Spell a splinter.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Yerl o' Waterydeck is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #9984; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George MacDonald, The Yerl o' Waterydeck, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/the-yerl-o-waterydeck.html, id L22539.
Form and metre
The Yerl o' Waterydeck is 124 lines in 31 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).
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-A- flewA · hame · crewA · faem
- 2 -A-A king · dumferlineA · be · mineA
- 3 -A-A han · leeA · south · seaA
- 4 -A-A trow · planA · forgets · lanA
- 5 -A-A sea · fellA · say · hellA
- 6 -A-A north · massA · ban's · bassA
- 7 ABAB stairA · wineB · fairA · brineB
- 8 -A-A snaw · weetA · dud · sleetA
- 9 ABAB winA · sheB · winA · aleeB
- 10 ABAB fairA · heB · mairA · meB
- 11 -A-A han · blastA · scraped · aghastA
- 15 -A-A to · leeA · stair · eeA
- 16 -A-A deck · kingA · boon · ringA
- 17 ABAB ootA · northB · abootA · forthB
- 18 -A-A heid · lanA · said · stanA
- 19 A-A- kneeA · drew · meA · noo
- 20 -A-A lord · neckA · doon · waterydeckA
- 21 -A-A great · dingA · yerl · kingA
- 22 -A-A he · thatA · man · atA
- 23 ABAB kingA · croonB · ringA · boonB
- 24 ABAB faceA · seeB · graceA · treeB
- 25 -A-A ship · bladeA · pier · madeA
- 26 -A-A whustle · pierA · horses · spearA
- 27 -A-A fair · spillA · hate · willA
- 28 -A-A bairn · kingA · face · thingA
- 29 ABAB graceA · kneeB · faceA · meB
- 30 -A-A deck · forthA · spread · northA
- 31 -A-A dochter · skaithA · sail · deathA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The wind it blew, and the ship it flew, | 9 | ········· |
| And it was "Hey for hame!" | 6 | ······ |
| But up an' cried the skipper til his crew, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| "Haud her oot ower the saut sea faem." | 9 | ········· |
| Syne up an' spak the angry king: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "Haud on for Dumferline!" | 6 | ······ |
| Quo' the skipper, "My lord, this maunna be-- | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| I'm king on this boat o' mine!" | 7 | ······· |
| He tuik the helm intil his han', | 8 | ········ |
| He left the shore un'er the lee; | 8 | ········ |
| Syne croodit sail, an', east an' south, | 8 | ········ |
| Stude awa richt oot to sea. | 7 | ······· |
| Quo' the king, "Leise-majesty, I trow! | 9 | ····/˘˘·· |
| Here lies some ill-set plan! | 6 | ······ |
| 'Bout ship!" Quo' the skipper, "Yer grace forgets | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| Ye are king but o' the lan'!" | 7 | ······· |
| Oot he heild to the open sea | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Quhill the north wind flaughtered an' fell; | 10 | ·······˘·· |
| Syne the east had a bitter word to say | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That waukent a watery hell. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| He turnt her heid intil the north: | 8 | ········ |
| Quo' the nobles, "He s' droon, by the mass!" | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Quo' the skipper, "Haud afif yer lady-ban's | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| Or ye'll never see the Bass." | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| The king creepit down the cabin-stair | 9 | ······/˘· |
| To drink the gude French wine; | 6 | ······ |
| An' up cam his dochter, the princess fair, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| An' luikit ower the brine. | 7 | ······· |
| She turnt her face to the drivin snaw, | 9 | ········· |
| To the snaw but and the weet; | 7 | ······· |
| It claucht her snood, an' awa like a dud | 10 | ·········· |
| Her hair drave oot i' the sleet. | 7 | ······· |
| She turnt her face frae the drivin win'-- | 9 | ········· |
| "Quhat's that aheid?" quo' she. | 7 | ······· |
| The skipper he threw himsel frae the win' | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| An' he brayt the helm alee. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| "Put to yer han', my lady fair! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Haud up her heid!" quo' he; | 6 | ······ |
| "Gien she dinna face the win' a wee mair | 10 | ·········· |
| It's faurweel to you an' me!" | 7 | ······· |
| To the tiller the lady she laid her han', | 11 | ··/˘·/˘···· |
| An' the ship brayt her cheek to the blast; | 9 | ········· |
| They joukit the berg, but her quarter scraped, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| An' they luikit at ither aghast. | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Quo' the skipper, "Ye are a lady fair, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| An' a princess gran' to see, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| But war ye a beggar, a man wud sail | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| To the hell i' yer company!" | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| She liftit a pale an' a queenly face, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Her een flashed, an' syne they swam: | 7 | ······· |
| "An' what for no to the hevin?" she says, | 10 | ·········· |
| An' she turnt awa frae him. | 7 | ······· |
| Bot she tuik na her han' frae the gude ship's helm | 11 | ··········· |
| Till the day begouth to daw; | 7 | ······· |
| An' the skipper he spak, but what was said | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| It was said atween them twa. | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| An' syne the gude ship she lay to, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' Scotlan' hyne un'er the lee; | 8 | ········ |
| An' the king cam up the cabin-stair | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Wi' wan face an' bluidshot ee. | 7 | ······· |
| Laigh loutit the skipper upo' the deck; | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| "Stan' up, stan' up," quo' the king; | 7 | ······· |
| "Ye're an honest loun--an' beg me a boon | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Quhan ye gie me back this ring." | 8 | ········ |
| Lowne blew the win'; the stars cam oot; | 8 | ········ |
| The ship turnt frae the north; | 6 | ······ |
| An' or ever the sun was up an' aboot | 10 | ··/······· |
| They war intil the firth o' Forth. | 8 | ········ |
| Quhan the gude ship lay at the pier-heid, | 10 | ·········· |
| And the king stude steady o' the lan',-- | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| "Doon wi' ye, skipper--doon!" he said, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "Hoo daur ye afore me stan'!" | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| The skipper he loutit on his knee; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| The king his blade he drew: | 6 | ······ |
| Quo' the king, "Noo mynt ye to centre me! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I'm aboord my vessel noo! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "Gien I hadna been yer verra gude lord | 10 | ·········· |
| I wud hae thrawn yer neck! | 6 | ······ |
| Bot--ye wha loutit Skipper o' Doon, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Rise up Yerl o' Waterydeck." | 8 | ········ |
| The skipper he rasena: "Yer Grace is great, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Yer wull it can heize or ding: | 7 | ······· |
| Wi' ae wee word ye hae made me a yerl-- | 10 | ·········· |
| Wi' anither mak me a king." | 8 | ········ |
| "I canna mak ye a king," quo' he, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| "The Lord alane can do that! | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| I snowk leise-majesty, my man! | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Quhat the Sathan wad ye be at?" | 9 | ········· |
| Glowert at the skipper the doutsum king | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Jalousin aneth his croon; | 7 | ······· |
| Quo' the skipper, "Here is yer Grace's ring-- | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| An' yer dochter is my boon!" | 7 | ······· |
| The black blude shot intil the king's face | 9 | ········· |
| He wasna bonny to see: | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| "The rascal skipper! he lichtlies oor grace!-- | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| Gar hang him heigh on yon tree." | 7 | ······· |
| Up sprang the skipper an' aboord his ship, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Cleikit up a bytin blade | 7 | ······· |
| An' hackit at the cable that held her to the pier, | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| An' thoucht it 'maist ower weel made. | 8 | ········ |
| The king he blew shill in a siller whustle; | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| An' tramp, tramp, doon the pier | 6 | ······ |
| Cam twenty men on twenty horses, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Clankin wi' spur an' spear. | 6 | ······ |
| At the king's fute fell his dochter fair: | 9 | ········· |
| "His life ye wadna spill!" | 6 | ······ |
| "Ye daur stan' twixt my hert an' my hate?" | 9 | ········· |
| "I daur, wi' a richt gude will!" | 7 | ······· |
| "Ye was aye to yer faither a thrawart bairn, | 11 | ··········· |
| But, my lady, here stan's the king! | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Luikna him i' the angry face-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A monarch's anither thing!" | 7 | ·/····· |
| "I lout to my father for his grace | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Low on my bendit knee; | 6 | ······ |
| But I stan' an' luik the king i' the face, | 10 | ·········· |
| For the skipper is king o' me!" | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| She turnt, she sprang upo' the deck, | 8 | ········ |
| The cable splashed i' the Forth, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Her wings sae braid the gude ship spread | 8 | ········ |
| And flew east, an' syne flew north. | 7 | ······· |
| Now was not this a king's dochter-- | 8 | ········ |
| A lady that feared no skaith? | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| A woman wi' quhilk a man micht sail | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Prood intil the Port o' Death? | 7 | ······· |
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