When the Green Gits Back in the Trees
In Spring, when the green gits back in the trees,And the sun comes out and STAYS,And yer boots pulls on with a good tight squeeze,And you think of yer bare-foot days;When you ORT to work and you want to NOT,And you and yer wife agreesIt's time to spade up the garden-lot,When the green gits back in the treesWell! work is the least o' MY ideesWhen the green, you know, gits back in the trees!
When the green gits back in the trees, and beesIs a-buzzin' aroun' ag'inIn that kind of a lazy go-as-you-pleaseOld gait they bum roun' in;When the groun's all bald whare the hay-rick stood,And the crick's riz, and the breezeCoaxes the bloom in the old dogwood,And the green gits back in the trees,--I like, as I say, in sich scenes as these,The time when the green gits back in the trees!
When the whole tail-feathers o' WintertimeIs all pulled out and gone!And the sap it thaws and begins to climb,And the swet it starts out onA feller's forred, a-gittin' downAt the old spring on his knees--I kindo' like jest a-loaferin' roun'When the green gits back in the trees--Jest a-potterin' roun' as I--durn--please-When the green, you know, gits back in the trees!
Words in this poem
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
When the Green Gits Back in the Trees is in the public domain. This text is taken from Riley Farm-Rhymes, Project Gutenberg ebook #4783; 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, When the Green Gits Back in the Trees, in Riley Farm-Rhymes (1883–1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4783, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/riley-farm-rhymes/when-the-green-gits-back-in-the-trees.html, id L01949.
Form and metre
When the Green Gits Back in the Trees is 30 lines in 3 stanzas of 10 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCACAAA, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.7 syllables. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABABCACAAA treesA · staysB · squeezeA · daysB · notC · agreesA · lotC · treesA · ideesA · treesA
- 2 ABABCACAAA beesA · ag'inB · pleaseA · inB · stoodC · breezeA · dogwoodC · treesA · theseA · treesA
- 3 ABAB-C-CCC wintertimeA · goneB · climbA · onB · down · kneesC · roun · treesC · pleaseC · treesC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In Spring, when the green gits back in the trees, | 10 | ·········· |
| And the sun comes out and STAYS, | 7 | ······· |
| And yer boots pulls on with a good tight squeeze, | 10 | ·········· |
| And you think of yer bare-foot days; | 8 | ········ |
| When you ORT to work and you want to NOT, | 10 | ·········· |
| And you and yer wife agrees | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| It's time to spade up the garden-lot, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| When the green gits back in the trees | 8 | ········ |
| Well! work is the least o' MY idees | 8 | ········ |
| When the green, you know, gits back in the trees! | 10 | ·········· |
| When the green gits back in the trees, and bees | 10 | ·········· |
| Is a-buzzin' aroun' ag'in | 8 | ······˘/ |
| In that kind of a lazy go-as-you-please | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Old gait they bum roun' in; | 6 | ······ |
| When the groun's all bald whare the hay-rick stood, | 10 | ·········· |
| And the crick's riz, and the breeze | 7 | ······· |
| Coaxes the bloom in the old dogwood, | 9 | /˘·····/· |
| And the green gits back in the trees,-- | 8 | ········ |
| I like, as I say, in sich scenes as these, | 10 | ·········· |
| The time when the green gits back in the trees! | 10 | ·········· |
| When the whole tail-feathers o' Wintertime | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| Is all pulled out and gone! | 6 | ······ |
| And the sap it thaws and begins to climb, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| And the swet it starts out on | 7 | ······· |
| A feller's forred, a-gittin' down | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| At the old spring on his knees-- | 7 | ······· |
| I kindo' like jest a-loaferin' roun' | 10 | ·········· |
| When the green gits back in the trees-- | 8 | ········ |
| Jest a-potterin' roun' as I--durn--please- | 10 | ·········· |
| When the green, you know, gits back in the trees! | 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.