Sally in our Alley
Of all the girls that are so smartThere’s none like pretty Sally;She is the darling of my heart,And she lives in our alley.There is no lady in the landIs half so sweet as Sally;She is the darling of my heart,And she lives in our alley.
Her father he makes cabbage-nets,And through the streets does cry ’em;Her mother she sells laces longTo such as please to buy ’em:But sure such folks could ne’er begetSo sweet a girl as Sally!She is the darling of my heart,And she lives in our alley.
When she is by, I leave my work,I love her so sincerely;My master comes like any Turk,And bangs me most severely:But let him bang his bellyful,I’ll bear it all for Sally;She is the darling of my heart,And she lives in our alley.
Of all the days that’s in the weekI dearly love but one day--And that’s the day that comes betwixtA Saturday and Monday;For then I’m drest all in my bestTo walk abroad with Sally;She is the darling of my heart,And she lives in our alley.
My master carries me to church,And often am I blamèdBecause I leave him in the lurchAs soon as text is namèd;I leave the church in sermon-timeAnd slink away to Sally;She is the darling of my heart,And she lives in our alley.
When Christmas comes about again,O, then I shall have money;I’ll hoard it up, and box it all,I’ll give it to my honey:I would it were ten thousand pound,I’d give it all to Sally;She is the darling of my heart,And she lives in our alley.
My master and the neighbours allMake game of me and Sally,And, but for her, I’d better beA slave and row a galley;But when my seven long years are out,O, then I’ll marry Sally;O, then we’ll wed, and then we’ll bed--But not in our alley!
Words in this poem
- folks n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- sincerely adv.
- In a sincere manner. Specifically: (a) Purely; without alloy.
- turk n.
- A member of any of numerous Tartar tribes of Central Asia, etc.; esp., one of the dominant race in Turkey. [Per. Turk; probably of Tartar origin: cf. F. Turc.]
- bellyful n.
- As much as satisfies the appetite. Hence: A great abundance; more than enough. Lloyd.
- betwixt prep.
- In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
- saturday n.
- The seventh or last day of the week; the day following Friday and preceding Sunday. [OE. Saterday, AS. Sæterdæg, Sæterndæg, Sæternesdæg, literally, Saturn's day, fr. L. Saturnus Saturn + AS. dæg day; cf. L. dies Saturni.]
- lurch v. t.
- To leave in the lurch; to cheat.
- slink v. t.
- To creep away meanly; to steal away; to sneak. [AS. slincan; probably akin to G. schleichen, E. sleek. See Sleek, a.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sally in our Alley is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900, Project Gutenberg ebook #66619; 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 Carey, Sally in our Alley, in Poems (1693–1743), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-henry-carey/sally-in-our-alley.html, id L16152.
Form and metre
Sally in our Alley is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 24 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABAB-BAB smartA · sallyB · heartA · alleyB · land · sallyB · heartA · alleyB
- 2 -A-A-B-B nets · emA · long · emA · beget · sallyB · heart · alleyB
- 3 ABAB-C-C workA · sincerelyB · turkA · severelyB · bellyful · sallyC · heart · alleyC
- 4 -A-A-B-B week · dayA · betwixt · mondayA · best · sallyB · heart · alleyB
- 5 ABAB-C-C churchA · blamèdB · lurchA · namèdB · time · sallyC · heart · alleyC
- 6 -A-A-B-B again · moneyA · all · honeyA · pound · sallyB · heart · alleyB
- 7 -A-A-A-A all · sallyA · be · galleyA · out · sallyA · bed · alleyA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Of all the girls that are so smart | 8 | ········ |
| There’s none like pretty Sally; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| She is the darling of my heart, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And she lives in our alley. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| There is no lady in the land | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Is half so sweet as Sally; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| She is the darling of my heart, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And she lives in our alley. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Her father he makes cabbage-nets, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And through the streets does cry ’em; | 7 | ······· |
| Her mother she sells laces long | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To such as please to buy ’em: | 7 | ······· |
| But sure such folks could ne’er beget | 8 | ······˘/ |
| So sweet a girl as Sally! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| She is the darling of my heart, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And she lives in our alley. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| When she is by, I leave my work, | 8 | ········ |
| I love her so sincerely; | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| My master comes like any Turk, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And bangs me most severely: | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| But let him bang his bellyful, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| I’ll bear it all for Sally; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| She is the darling of my heart, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And she lives in our alley. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Of all the days that’s in the week | 8 | ········ |
| I dearly love but one day-- | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And that’s the day that comes betwixt | 8 | ······˘/ |
| A Saturday and Monday; | 7 | ·/···/˘ |
| For then I’m drest all in my best | 8 | ········ |
| To walk abroad with Sally; | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| She is the darling of my heart, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And she lives in our alley. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| My master carries me to church, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And often am I blamèd | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Because I leave him in the lurch | 8 | ········ |
| As soon as text is namèd; | 6 | ······ |
| I leave the church in sermon-time | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And slink away to Sally; | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| She is the darling of my heart, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And she lives in our alley. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| When Christmas comes about again, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| O, then I shall have money; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I’ll hoard it up, and box it all, | 8 | ········ |
| I’ll give it to my honey: | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I would it were ten thousand pound, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I’d give it all to Sally; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| She is the darling of my heart, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And she lives in our alley. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| My master and the neighbours all | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Make game of me and Sally, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And, but for her, I’d better be | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A slave and row a galley; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| But when my seven long years are out, | 8 | ···/···· |
| O, then I’ll marry Sally; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| O, then we’ll wed, and then we’ll bed-- | 8 | ········ |
| But not in our alley! | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
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.