The Raggedy Man
O The Raggedy Man! He works fer Pa;An' he's the goodest man ever you saw!He comes to our house every day,An' waters the horses, an' feeds 'em hay;An' he opens the shed--an' we all ist laughWhen he drives out our little old wobble-ly calf;An' nen--ef our hired girl says he can--He milks the cow fer 'Lizabuth Ann.--Aint he a' awful good Raggedy Man?Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
W'y, The Raggedy Man--he's ist so goodHe splits the kindlin' an' chops the wood;An' nen he spades in our garden, too,An' does most things 'at boys can't do!--He clumbed clean up in our big treeAn' shooked a' apple down fer me--An' nother'n', too, fer 'Lizabuth Ann--An' nother'n', too, fer The Raggedy Man.--Aint he a' awful kind Raggedy Man?Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
An' The Raggedy Man, he knows most rhymesAn' tells 'em, ef I be good, sometimes:Knows 'bout Giunts, an' Griffuns, an' Elves,An' the Squidgicum-Squees 'at swallers therselves!An', wite by the pump in our pasture-lot,He showed me the hole 'at the Wunks is got,'At lives 'way deep in the ground, an' canTurn into me, er 'Lizabuth Ann!Aint he a funny old Raggedy Man?Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
The Raggedy Man--one time when heWuz makin' a little bow-'n'-orry fer me,Says "When you're big like your Pa is,Air you go' to keep a fine store like his--An' be a rich merchunt--an' wear fine clothes?--Er what air you go' to be, goodness knows!"An' nen he laughed at 'Lizabuth Ann,An' I says "'M go' to be a Raggedy Man!--I'm ist go' to be a nice Raggedy Man!"Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
Words in this poem
- chops n.
- The jaws; also, the fleshy parts about the mouth. [See Chop a jaw.]
- wite n.
- Blame; reproach. [AS. wite punishment. Wite, v.]
- funny a.
- Droll; comical; amusing; laughable. Funny bone. See crazy bone, under Crazy. [From Fun.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Raggedy Man 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 Raggedy Man, in Riley Child-Rhymes (1890), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9777, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/riley-child-rhymes/the-raggedy-man.html, id L25034.
Form and metre
The Raggedy Man is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDDDD, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas.
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 --AABBCCCC pa · saw · dayA · hayA · laughB · calfB · canC · annC · manC · manC
- 2 AABBCCDDDD goodA · woodA · tooB · doB · treeC · meC · annD · manD · manD · manD
- 3 AABBCCDDDD rhymesA · sometimesA · elvesB · therselvesB · lotC · gotC · canD · annD · manD · manD
- 4 AABBCCDDDD heA · meA · isB · hisB · clothesC · knowsC · annD · manD · manD · manD
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O The Raggedy Man! He works fer Pa; | 10 | ··/˘˘····· |
| An' he's the goodest man ever you saw! | 10 | ···/˘·/˘·· |
| He comes to our house every day, | 10 | ···/˘·/˘˘· |
| An' waters the horses, an' feeds 'em hay; | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| An' he opens the shed--an' we all ist laugh | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| When he drives out our little old wobble-ly calf; | 12 | ····//˘·/˘·· |
| An' nen--ef our hired girl says he can-- | 10 | ···//˘···· |
| He milks the cow fer 'Lizabuth Ann.-- | 9 | ········· |
| Aint he a' awful good Raggedy Man? | 10 | ···/˘·/˘˘· |
| Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man! | 10 | /˘˘/˘˘/˘˘· |
| W'y, The Raggedy Man--he's ist so good | 10 | ··/˘˘····· |
| He splits the kindlin' an' chops the wood; | 9 | ········· |
| An' nen he spades in our garden, too, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| An' does most things 'at boys can't do!-- | 8 | ········ |
| He clumbed clean up in our big tree | 10 | ··˘···/˘·· |
| An' shooked a' apple down fer me-- | 9 | ··˘·/˘··· |
| An' nother'n', too, fer 'Lizabuth Ann-- | 9 | ········· |
| An' nother'n', too, fer The Raggedy Man.-- | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| Aint he a' awful kind Raggedy Man? | 10 | ···/˘·/˘˘· |
| Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man! | 10 | /˘˘/˘˘/˘˘· |
| An' The Raggedy Man, he knows most rhymes | 10 | ··/˘˘····· |
| An' tells 'em, ef I be good, sometimes: | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Knows 'bout Giunts, an' Griffuns, an' Elves, | 8 | ········ |
| An' the Squidgicum-Squees 'at swallers therselves! | 11 | ··········· |
| An', wite by the pump in our pasture-lot, | 10 | ······//˘· |
| He showed me the hole 'at the Wunks is got, | 10 | ·········· |
| 'At lives 'way deep in the ground, an' can | 9 | ········· |
| Turn into me, er 'Lizabuth Ann! | 9 | ········· |
| Aint he a funny old Raggedy Man? | 10 | ···/˘·/˘˘· |
| Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man! | 10 | /˘˘/˘˘/˘˘· |
| The Raggedy Man--one time when he | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| Wuz makin' a little bow-'n'-orry fer me, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘······ |
| Says "When you're big like your Pa is, | 8 | ········ |
| Air you go' to keep a fine store like his-- | 10 | ·········· |
| An' be a rich merchunt--an' wear fine clothes?-- | 10 | ·········· |
| Er what air you go' to be, goodness knows!" | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| An' nen he laughed at 'Lizabuth Ann, | 10 | ····˘····· |
| An' I says "'M go' to be a Raggedy Man!-- | 11 | ········/˘· |
| I'm ist go' to be a nice Raggedy Man!" | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man! | 10 | /˘˘/˘˘/˘˘· |
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.