Young John
A fair maid sat in her bower-door,Wringing her lily hands,And by it came a sprightly youth,Fast tripping o’er the strands.
‘Where gang ye, young John,’ she says,‘Sae early in the day?It gars me think, by your fast trip,Your journey’s far away.’
He turn’d about wi’ a surly look,And said, ‘What’s that to thee?I’m gaen to see a lovely maid,Mair fairer far than ye.’--
‘Now hae ye play’d me this, fause love,In simmer, ’mid the flowers?I shall repay ye back again,In winter, ’mid the showers.
‘But again, dear love, and again, dear love,Will ye not turn again?For as ye look to other women,Sall I to other men.’--
‘Go make your choice of whom you please,For I my choice will have;I’ve chosen a maid more fair than thee,I never will deceive.’
She’s kilted up her claithing fine,And after him gaed she;But aye he said, ‘Ye’ll turn again,Nae farther gang wi’ me.’--
‘But again, dear love, and again, dear love,Will ye ne’er love me again?Alas, for loving you sae well,And you nae me again!’
The firstan town that they cam’ till,He bought her brooch and ring;And aye he bade her turn again,And nae farther gang wi’ him.
‘But again, dear love, and again, dear love,Will ye ne’er love me again?Alas, for loving you sae well,And you nae me again!’
The nextan town that they cam’ till,He bought her muff and gloves;But aye he bade her turn again,And choose some other loves.
‘But again, dear love, and again, dear love,Will ye ne’er love me again?Alas, for loving you sae well,And you nae me again!’
The nextan town that they cam’ till,His heart it grew mair fain,And he was as deep in love wi’ herAs she was ower again.
The nextan town that they cam’ till,He bought her wedding gown,And made her lady of ha’s and bowers,Into sweet Berwick town.
Words in this poem
- wringing
- a. & n. from Wring, v. Wringing machine, a wringer. See Wringer, 2.
- surly a.
- Arrogant; haughty. Cotgrave. [Probably from sir, and originally meaning, sirlike, i.e., proud. See Sir, and Like, a.]
- simmer v. i.
- To boil gently, or with a gentle hissing; to begin to boil. [Prov. E. also simper; -- an onomatopoetic word.]
- 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,]
- sall n.
- An East Indian timber tree (Shorea robusta), much used for building purposes. It is of a light brown color, close-grained, and durable. [Hind. s\'bel, Skr. ç\'bela.]
- kilted a.
- Having on a kilt.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- muff n.
- A soft cover of cylindrical form, usually of fur, worn by women to shield the hands from cold. [Cf. LG. muff, D. mof, G., Dan., & Sw. muff, F. moufle mitten, LL. muffula, MHG. mouwe sleeve, D. mouw, and E. muffle, v.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Young John is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #44593; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Arthur Quiller-Couch, Young John, in The Oxford Book of Ballads (before 1800), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44593, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/oxford-ballads/young-john.html, id L08421.
Form and metre
Young John is 56 lines in 14 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in common measure.
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 door · handsA · youth · strandsA
- 2 -A-A says · dayA · trip · awayA
- 3 -A-A look · theeA · maid · yeA
- 4 -A-A love · flowersA · again · showersA
- 5 -AAA love · againA · womenA · menA
- 7 -A-A fine · sheA · again · meA
- 8 -A-A love · againA · well · againA
- 10 -A-A love · againA · well · againA
- 11 -A-A till · glovesA · again · lovesA
- 12 -A-A love · againA · well · againA
- 13 -A-A till · fainA · her · againA
- 14 -A-A till · gownA · bowers · townA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A fair maid sat in her bower-door, | 8 | ······/· |
| Wringing her lily hands, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| And by it came a sprightly youth, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Fast tripping o’er the strands. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| ‘Where gang ye, young John,’ she says, | 7 | ······· |
| ‘Sae early in the day? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| It gars me think, by your fast trip, | 8 | ········ |
| Your journey’s far away.’ | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| He turn’d about wi’ a surly look, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And said, ‘What’s that to thee? | 6 | ······ |
| I’m gaen to see a lovely maid, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Mair fairer far than ye.’-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| ‘Now hae ye play’d me this, fause love, | 8 | ········ |
| In simmer, ’mid the flowers? | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| I shall repay ye back again, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| In winter, ’mid the showers. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| ‘But again, dear love, and again, dear love, | 10 | ·˘/···˘/·· |
| Will ye not turn again? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| For as ye look to other women, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Sall I to other men.’-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| ‘Go make your choice of whom you please, | 8 | ········ |
| For I my choice will have; | 6 | ······ |
| I’ve chosen a maid more fair than thee, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| I never will deceive.’ | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| She’s kilted up her claithing fine, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And after him gaed she; | 6 | ······ |
| But aye he said, ‘Ye’ll turn again, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Nae farther gang wi’ me.’-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| ‘But again, dear love, and again, dear love, | 10 | ·˘/···˘/·· |
| Will ye ne’er love me again? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Alas, for loving you sae well, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| And you nae me again!’ | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The firstan town that they cam’ till, | 8 | ········ |
| He bought her brooch and ring; | 6 | ······ |
| And aye he bade her turn again, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And nae farther gang wi’ him. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| ‘But again, dear love, and again, dear love, | 10 | ·˘/···˘/·· |
| Will ye ne’er love me again? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Alas, for loving you sae well, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| And you nae me again!’ | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The nextan town that they cam’ till, | 8 | ········ |
| He bought her muff and gloves; | 6 | ······ |
| But aye he bade her turn again, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And choose some other loves. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| ‘But again, dear love, and again, dear love, | 10 | ·˘/···˘/·· |
| Will ye ne’er love me again? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Alas, for loving you sae well, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| And you nae me again!’ | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The nextan town that they cam’ till, | 8 | ········ |
| His heart it grew mair fain, | 6 | ······ |
| And he was as deep in love wi’ her | 9 | ········· |
| As she was ower again. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| The nextan town that they cam’ till, | 8 | ········ |
| He bought her wedding gown, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And made her lady of ha’s and bowers, | 9 | ···/˘···/ |
| Into sweet Berwick town. | 6 | ···/˘· |
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