The Old Sailor
There was once an old sailor my grandfather knewWho had so many things which he wanted to doThat, whenever he thought it was time to begin,He couldn't because of the state he was in.
He was shipwrecked, and lived on an island for weeks,And he wanted a hat, and he wanted some breeks;And he wanted some nets, or a line and some hooksFor the turtles and things which you read of in books.
And, thinking of this, he remembered a thingWhich he wanted (for water) and that was a spring;And he thought that to talk to he'd look for, and keep(If he found it) a goat, or some chickens and sheep.
Then, because of the weather, he wanted a hutWith a door (to come in by) which opened and shut(With a jerk, which was useful if snakes were about),And a very strong lock to keep savages out.
He began on the fish-hooks, and when he'd begunHe decided he couldn't because of the sun.So he knew what he ought to begin with, and thatWas to find, or to make, a large sun-stopping hat.
He was making the hat with some leaves from a tree,When he thought, "I'm as hot as a body can be,And I've nothing to take for my terrible thirst;So I'll look for a spring, and I'll look for it first."
Then he thought as he started, "Oh, dear and oh, dear!I'll be lonely to-morrow with nobody here!"So he made in his note-book a couple of notes:"I must first find some chickens" and "No, I mean goats."
He had just seen a goat (which he knew by the shape)When he thought, "But I must have a boat for escape.But a boat means a sail, which means needles and thread;So I'd better sit down and make needles instead."
He began on a needle, but thought as he worked,That, if this was an island where savages lurked,Sitting safe in his hut he'd have nothing to fear,Whereas now they might suddenly breathe in his ear!
So he thought of his hut ... and he thought of his boat,And his hat and his breeks, and his chickens and goat,And the hooks (for his food) and the spring (for his thirst)....But he never could think which he ought to do first.
And so in the end he did nothing at all,But basked on the shingle wrapped up in a shawl.And I think it was dreadful the way he behaved—He did nothing but basking until he was saved!
Words in this poem
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- nobody n.
- No person; no one; not anybody. [No, a. + body.]
- whereas adv.
- At which place; where.
- shingle n.
- Round, water-worn, and loose gravel and pebbles, or a collection of roundish stones, such as are common on the seashore and elsewhere. [Prob. from Norw. singl, singling, coarse gravel, small round stones.]
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Old Sailor is in the public domain. This text is taken from Now We Are Six, Project Gutenberg ebook #70516; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: A. A. Milne, The Old Sailor, in Now We Are Six (1927), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70516, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/milne-now-we-are-six/the-old-sailor.html, id L27229.
Form and metre
The Old Sailor is 44 lines in 11 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 96%).
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 AABB knewA · doA · beginB · inB
- 2 AABB weeksA · breeksA · hooksB · booksB
- 3 AABB thingA · springA · keepB · sheepB
- 4 AABB hutA · shutA · aboutB · outB
- 5 AABB begunA · sunA · thatB · hatB
- 6 AABB treeA · beA · thirstB · firstB
- 7 AABB dearA · hereA · notesB · goatsB
- 8 AABB shapeA · escapeA · threadB · insteadB
- 9 AABB workedA · lurkedA · fearB · earB
- 10 AABB boatA · goatA · thirstB · firstB
- 11 AABB allA · shawlA · behavedB · savedB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| There was once an old sailor my grandfather knew | 12 | ·····/˘·/·˘· |
| Who had so many things which he wanted to do | 12 | ···/˘···/˘·· |
| That, whenever he thought it was time to begin, | 12 | ·˘/˘······˘/ |
| He couldn't because of the state he was in. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| He was shipwrecked, and lived on an island for weeks, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| And he wanted a hat, and he wanted some breeks; | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| And he wanted some nets, or a line and some hooks | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| For the turtles and things which you read of in books. | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| And, thinking of this, he remembered a thing | 12 | ·/˘···˘/˘˘·· |
| Which he wanted (for water) and that was a spring; | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| And he thought that to talk to he'd look for, and keep | 12 | ············ |
| (If he found it) a goat, or some chickens and sheep. | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| Then, because of the weather, he wanted a hut | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| With a door (to come in by) which opened and shut | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| (With a jerk, which was useful if snakes were about), | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| And a very strong lock to keep savages out. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘· |
| He began on the fish-hooks, and when he'd begun | 12 | ·˘/·······/˘ |
| He decided he couldn't because of the sun. | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘····· |
| So he knew what he ought to begin with, and that | 12 | ·······˘/··· |
| Was to find, or to make, a large sun-stopping hat. | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| He was making the hat with some leaves from a tree, | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| When he thought, "I'm as hot as a body can be, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| And I've nothing to take for my terrible thirst; | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘· |
| So I'll look for a spring, and I'll look for it first." | 12 | ············ |
| Then he thought as he started, "Oh, dear and oh, dear! | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| I'll be lonely to-morrow with nobody here!" | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·/··· |
| So he made in his note-book a couple of notes: | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| "I must first find some chickens" and "No, I mean goats." | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| He had just seen a goat (which he knew by the shape) | 12 | ············ |
| When he thought, "But I must have a boat for escape. | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| But a boat means a sail, which means needles and thread; | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| So I'd better sit down and make needles instead." | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘/ |
| He began on a needle, but thought as he worked, | 12 | ·˘/··/˘····· |
| That, if this was an island where savages lurked, | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘˘· |
| Sitting safe in his hut he'd have nothing to fear, | 12 | /˘······/˘·· |
| Whereas now they might suddenly breathe in his ear! | 12 | ˘/···/˘˘···· |
| So he thought of his hut ... and he thought of his boat, | 12 | ············ |
| And his hat and his breeks, and his chickens and goat, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| And the hooks (for his food) and the spring (for his thirst).... | 12 | ············ |
| But he never could think which he ought to do first. | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| And so in the end he did nothing at all, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| But basked on the shingle wrapped up in a shawl. | 12 | ··˘··/˘····· |
| And I think it was dreadful the way he behaved— | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| He did nothing but basking until he was saved! | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
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.