Waitin' Fer the Cat to Die
Lawzy! don't I rickollectThat-'air old swing in the lane!Right and proper, I expect,Old times can't come back again;But I want to state, ef theyCould come back, and I could sayWhat my pick 'ud be, i jing!I'd say, Gimme the old swing'Nunder the old locus'-treesOn the old place, ef you please!--Danglin' there with half-shet eye,Waitin' fer the cat to die!
I'd say, Gimme the old gangOf barefooted, hungry, lean,Ornry boys you want to hangWhen you're growed up twic't as mean!The old gyarden-patch, the oldTruants, and the stuff we stol'd!The old stompin'-groun', where weWore the grass off, wild and freeAs the swoop of the old swing,Where we ust to climb and cling,And twist roun', and fight, and lie--Waitin' fer the cat to die!
'Pears like I 'most allus couldSwing the highest of the crowd--Jes sail up there tel I stoodDownside-up, and screech out loud,--Ketch my breath, and jes drap backFer to let the old swing slack,Yit my tow-head dippin' stillIn the green boughs, and the chillUp my backbone taperin' down,With my shadder on the ground'Slow and slower trailin' by--Waitin' fer the cat to die!
Now my daughter's little Jane'sGot a kind o' baby-swingOn the porch, so's when it rainsShe kin play there--little thing!And I'd limped out t'other dayWith my old cheer this-a-way,Swingin' her and rockin' too,Thinkin' how I ust to doAt her age, when suddently,"Hey, Gran'pap!" she says to me,"Why you rock so slow?" ... Says I,"Waitin' fer the cat to die!"
Words in this poem
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- gimme a.
- Neat; spruce. [Prov.] [Cf. Gimp, a.]
- barefooted a.
- Having the feet bare.
- swoop v. t.
- To fall on at once and seize; to catch while on the wing; as, a hawk swoops a chicken. [OE. swopen, usually, to sweep, As. swapan to sweep, to rush; akin to G. schweifen to rove, to ramble, to curve, OHG. sweifan to whirl, Icel. sveipa to sweep; al]
- ketch n.
- An almost obsolete form of vessel, with a mainmast and a mizzenmast, -- usually from one hundred to two hundred and fifty tons burden. Bomb ketch. See under Bomb. [Prob. corrupted fr. Turk. qaiq : cf. F. caiche. Cf. Caïque.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Waitin' Fer the Cat to Die 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, Waitin' Fer the Cat to Die, in Riley Child-Rhymes (1890), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9777, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/riley-child-rhymes/waitin-fer-the-cat-to-die.html, id L25056.
Form and metre
Waitin' Fer the Cat to Die is 48 lines in 4 stanzas of 12 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDDEEFF, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABABCCDDEEFF rickollectA · laneB · expectA · againB · theyC · sayC · jingD · swingD · treesE · pleaseE · eyeF · dieF
- 2 ABABCCDDEEFF gangA · leanB · hangA · meanB · oldC · stol'dC · weD · freeD · swingE · clingE · lieF · dieF
- 3 ABABCCDD--EE couldA · crowdB · stoodA · loudB · backC · slackC · stillD · chillD · down · ground · byE · dieE
- 4 ABABCCDD-EEE jane'sA · swingB · rainsA · thingB · dayC · wayC · tooD · doD · suddently · meE · iE · dieE
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Lawzy! don't I rickollect | 7 | ······· |
| That-'air old swing in the lane! | 7 | ······· |
| Right and proper, I expect, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Old times can't come back again; | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| But I want to state, ef they | 7 | ······· |
| Could come back, and I could say | 7 | ······· |
| What my pick 'ud be, i jing! | 7 | ······· |
| I'd say, Gimme the old swing | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| 'Nunder the old locus'-trees | 7 | ····/˘· |
| On the old place, ef you please!-- | 7 | ······· |
| Danglin' there with half-shet eye, | 7 | ······· |
| Waitin' fer the cat to die! | 7 | /˘····· |
| I'd say, Gimme the old gang | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Of barefooted, hungry, lean, | 7 | ·/·˘/˘· |
| Ornry boys you want to hang | 7 | ······· |
| When you're growed up twic't as mean! | 7 | ······· |
| The old gyarden-patch, the old | 7 | ······· |
| Truants, and the stuff we stol'd! | 7 | /˘····· |
| The old stompin'-groun', where we | 7 | ······· |
| Wore the grass off, wild and free | 7 | ······· |
| As the swoop of the old swing, | 7 | ······· |
| Where we ust to climb and cling, | 7 | ······· |
| And twist roun', and fight, and lie-- | 7 | ······· |
| Waitin' fer the cat to die! | 7 | /˘····· |
| 'Pears like I 'most allus could | 7 | ······· |
| Swing the highest of the crowd-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Jes sail up there tel I stood | 7 | ······· |
| Downside-up, and screech out loud,-- | 7 | /······ |
| Ketch my breath, and jes drap back | 7 | ······· |
| Fer to let the old swing slack, | 7 | ······· |
| Yit my tow-head dippin' still | 7 | ······· |
| In the green boughs, and the chill | 7 | ······· |
| Up my backbone taperin' down, | 8 | ··/····· |
| With my shadder on the ground' | 7 | ······· |
| Slow and slower trailin' by-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Waitin' fer the cat to die! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Now my daughter's little Jane's | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Got a kind o' baby-swing | 7 | ····/˘· |
| On the porch, so's when it rains | 7 | ······· |
| She kin play there--little thing! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And I'd limped out t'other day | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| With my old cheer this-a-way, | 7 | ······· |
| Swingin' her and rockin' too, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Thinkin' how I ust to do | 7 | /˘····· |
| At her age, when suddently, | 7 | ······· |
| "Hey, Gran'pap!" she says to me, | 7 | ······· |
| "Why you rock so slow?" ... Says I, | 7 | ······· |
| "Waitin' fer the cat to die!" | 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.