Farm-Yard Song
Over the hill the farm-boy goes,His shadow lengthens along the land,A giant staff in a giant hand;In the poplar-tree, above the spring,The katydid begins to sing;The early dews are falling;--Into the stone-heap darts the mink;The swallows skim the river’s brink;And home to the woodland fly the crows,When over the hill the farm-boy goes,Cheerily calling,--“Co’, boss! co’, boss! co’! co’! co’!”Farther, farther over the hill,Faintly calling, calling still,--“Co’, boss! co’, boss! co’! co’!”
Into the yard the farmer goes,With grateful heart, at the close of day;Harness and chain are hung away;In the wagon-shed stand yoke and plow;The straw’s in the stack, the hay in the mow;The cooling dews are falling;--The friendly sheep his welcome bleat,The pigs come grunting to his feet,The whinnying mare her master knows,When into the yard the farmer goes,His cattle calling,--“Co’, boss! co’, boss! co’! co’! co’!”While still the cow-boy, far away,Goes seeking those that have gone astray,--“Co’, boss! co’, boss! co’! co’!”
Now to her task the milkmaid goes.The cattle come crowding through the gate,Lowing, pushing, little and great;About the trough, by the farm-yard pump,The frolicsome yearlings frisk and jump,While the pleasant dews are falling;--The new-milch heifer is quick and shy,But the old cow waits with tranquil eye;And the white stream into the bright pail flows,When to her task the milkmaid goes,Soothingly calling,--“So, boss! so, boss! so! so! so!”The cheerful milkmaid takes her stool,And sits and milks in the twilight cool,Saying, “So! so, boss! so! so!”
To supper at last the farmer goes.The apples are pared, the paper read,The stories are told, then all to bed.Without, the crickets’ ceaseless songMakes shrill the silence all night long;The heavy dews are falling.The housewife’s hand has turned the lock;Drowsily ticks the kitchen clock;The household sinks to deep repose;But still in sleep the farm-boy goes.Singing, calling,--“Co’, boss! co’, boss! co’! co’! co’!”And oft the milkmaid, in her dreams,Drums in the pail with the flashing streams,Murmuring, “So, boss! so!”
Words in this poem
- katydid n.
- A large, green, arboreal, orthopterous insect (Cyrtophyllus concavus) of the family Locustidæ, common in the United States. The males have stridulating organs at the bases of the front wings.
- brink n.
- The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
- cheerily adv.
- In a cheery manner.
- cooling a.
- Adapted to cool and refresh; allaying heat.
- bleat v. i.
- To make the noise of, or one like that of, a sheep; to cry like a sheep or calf. [OE. bleten, AS. bl; akin to D. blaten, bleeten, OHG. blazan, plazan; prob. of imitative origin.]
- milkmaid n.
- A woman who milks cows or is employed in the dairy.
- lowing n.
- The calling sound made by cows and other bovine animals.
- soothingly adv.
- In a soothing manner.
- ceaseless a.
- Without pause or end; incessant.
- drowsily adv.
- In a drowsy manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Farm-Yard Song is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, Farm-Yard Song, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/farm-yard-song.html, id L25217.
Form and metre
Farm-Yard Song is 60 lines in 4 stanzas of 15 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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 ABBCCCDDAA-EFFE goesA · landB · handB · springC · singC · fallingC · minkD · brinkD · crowsA · goesA · calling · coE · hillF · stillF · coE
- 2 ABB-C-DDAA-CBBC goesA · dayB · awayB · plow · mowC · falling · bleatD · feetD · knowsA · goesA · calling · coC · awayB · astrayB · coC
- 3 ABBCC-DDAA-EFFE goesA · gateB · greatB · pumpC · jumpC · falling · shyD · eyeD · flowsA · goesA · calling · soE · stoolF · coolF · soE
- 4 ABBCCCDDAA-EFFE goesA · readB · bedB · songC · longC · fallingC · lockD · clockD · reposeA · goesA · calling · coE · dreamsF · streamsF · soE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Over the hill the farm-boy goes, | 8 | ········ |
| His shadow lengthens along the land, | 9 | ·/·/˘˘/·· |
| A giant staff in a giant hand; | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| In the poplar-tree, above the spring, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| The katydid begins to sing; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| The early dews are falling;-- | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Into the stone-heap darts the mink; | 8 | ········ |
| The swallows skim the river’s brink; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And home to the woodland fly the crows, | 9 | ····/···· |
| When over the hill the farm-boy goes, | 8 | ········ |
| Cheerily calling,-- | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| “Co’, boss! co’, boss! co’! co’! co’!” | 7 | ······· |
| Farther, farther over the hill, | 8 | /˘/˘···· |
| Faintly calling, calling still,-- | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| “Co’, boss! co’, boss! co’! co’!” | 6 | ······ |
| Into the yard the farmer goes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With grateful heart, at the close of day; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Harness and chain are hung away; | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| In the wagon-shed stand yoke and plow; | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| The straw’s in the stack, the hay in the mow; | 10 | ·········· |
| The cooling dews are falling;-- | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| The friendly sheep his welcome bleat, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The pigs come grunting to his feet, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The whinnying mare her master knows, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| When into the yard the farmer goes, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| His cattle calling,-- | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| “Co’, boss! co’, boss! co’! co’! co’!” | 7 | ······· |
| While still the cow-boy, far away, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Goes seeking those that have gone astray,-- | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| “Co’, boss! co’, boss! co’! co’!” | 6 | ······ |
| Now to her task the milkmaid goes. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The cattle come crowding through the gate, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| Lowing, pushing, little and great; | 8 | /˘/˘/˘·· |
| About the trough, by the farm-yard pump, | 9 | ········· |
| The frolicsome yearlings frisk and jump, | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘··· |
| While the pleasant dews are falling;-- | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| The new-milch heifer is quick and shy, | 8 | ···/···· |
| But the old cow waits with tranquil eye; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And the white stream into the bright pail flows, | 10 | ·········· |
| When to her task the milkmaid goes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Soothingly calling,-- | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| “So, boss! so, boss! so! so! so!” | 7 | ······· |
| The cheerful milkmaid takes her stool, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And sits and milks in the twilight cool, | 9 | ······/·· |
| Saying, “So! so, boss! so! so!” | 7 | /˘····· |
| To supper at last the farmer goes. | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| The apples are pared, the paper read, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| The stories are told, then all to bed. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Without, the crickets’ ceaseless song | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Makes shrill the silence all night long; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The heavy dews are falling. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| The housewife’s hand has turned the lock; | 8 | ·/······ |
| Drowsily ticks the kitchen clock; | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| The household sinks to deep repose; | 8 | ·/····˘/ |
| But still in sleep the farm-boy goes. | 8 | ········ |
| Singing, calling,-- | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| “Co’, boss! co’, boss! co’! co’! co’!” | 7 | ······· |
| And oft the milkmaid, in her dreams, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Drums in the pail with the flashing streams, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Murmuring, “So, boss! so!” | 6 | /˘˘··· |
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.