The Lugubrious Whing-Whang
The rhyme o' The Raggedy Man's 'at's bestIs Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs,--'Cause that-un's the strangest of all o' the rest,An' the worst to learn, an' the last one guessed,An' the funniest one, an' the foolishest.--Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs!
I don't know what in the world it means--Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs!--An' nen when I tell him I don't, he leansLike he was a-grindin' on some machinesAn' says: Ef I don't, w'y, I don't know beans!Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs!--
Out on the margin of Moonshine Land,Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs!Out where the Whing-Whang loves to stand,Writing his name with his tail in the sand,And swiping it out with his oogerish hand;Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs!
Is it the gibber of Gungs or Keeks?Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs!Or what is the sound that the Whing-Whang seeks?--Crouching low by the winding creeksAnd holding his breath for weeks and weeks!Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs!
Aroint him the wraithest of wraithly things!Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs!'Tis a fair Whing-Whangess, with phosphor ringsAnd bridal-jewels of fangs and stings;And she sits and as sadly and softly singsAs the mildewed whir of her own dead wings,--Tickle me, Dear,Tickle me here,Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs!
Words in this poem
- tickle a.
- Ticklish; easily tickled.
- lonesome a.
- Secluded from society; not frequented by human beings; solitary.
- moonshine n.
- The light of the moon.
- gibber n.
- A balky horse. Youatt. [From Gib to balk.]
- creeks n.
- A tribe or confederacy of North American Indians, including the Muskogees, Seminoles, Uchees, and other subordinate tribes. They formerly inhabited Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.
- aroint interj.
- Stand off, or begone. [Cf. Prov. E. rynt, rynt thee, roynt, or runt, terms used by milkmaids to a cow that has been milked, in order to drive her away, to make room for others; AS. r ]
- sadly adv.
- Wearily; heavily; firmly.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Lugubrious Whing-Whang is in the public domain. This text is taken from Riley Child-Rhymes, Project Gutenberg ebook #9777; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Whitcomb Riley, The Lugubrious Whing-Whang, in Riley Child-Rhymes (1890), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9777, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/riley-child-rhymes/the-lugubrious-whing-whang.html, id L25055.
Form and metre
The Lugubrious Whing-Whang is 33 lines in 5 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAAAB, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 79%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABAAAB bestA · ribsB · restA · guessedA · foolishestA · ribsB
- 2 ABAAAB meansA · ribsB · leansA · machinesA · beansA · ribsB
- 3 ABAAAB landA · ribsB · standA · sandA · handA · ribsB
- 4 ABAAAB keeksA · ribsB · seeksA · creeksA · weeksA · ribsB
- 5 ABAAAACCB thingsA · ribsB · ringsA · stingsA · singsA · wingsA · dearC · hereC · ribsB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The rhyme o' The Raggedy Man's 'at's best | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Is Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs,-- | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| 'Cause that-un's the strangest of all o' the rest, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| An' the worst to learn, an' the last one guessed, | 10 | ·········· |
| An' the funniest one, an' the foolishest.-- | 10 | ··/˘···/˘˘ |
| Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs! | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| I don't know what in the world it means-- | 9 | ········· |
| Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs!-- | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| An' nen when I tell him I don't, he leans | 10 | ·········· |
| Like he was a-grindin' on some machines | 10 | ········˘/ |
| An' says: Ef I don't, w'y, I don't know beans! | 10 | ·········· |
| Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs!-- | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| Out on the margin of Moonshine Land, | 9 | ···/˘·/·· |
| Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs! | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| Out where the Whing-Whang loves to stand, | 8 | ········ |
| Writing his name with his tail in the sand, | 10 | /˘········ |
| And swiping it out with his oogerish hand; | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs! | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| Is it the gibber of Gungs or Keeks? | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs! | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| Or what is the sound that the Whing-Whang seeks?-- | 10 | ·········· |
| Crouching low by the winding creeks | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| And holding his breath for weeks and weeks! | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs! | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| Aroint him the wraithest of wraithly things! | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs! | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| 'Tis a fair Whing-Whangess, with phosphor rings | 10 | ·······/·· |
| And bridal-jewels of fangs and stings; | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| And she sits and as sadly and softly sings | 11 | ·····/˘·/˘· |
| As the mildewed whir of her own dead wings,-- | 10 | ··/······· |
| Tickle me, Dear, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Tickle me here, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs! | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
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.