Caboose Thoughts
It's going to come out all right—do you know?The sun, the birds, the grass—they know.They get along—and we'll get along.
Some days will be rainy and you will sit waitingAnd the letter you wait for won't come,And I will sit watching the sky tear off gray and grayAnd the letter I wait for won't come.
There will be ac-ci-dents.I know ac-ci-dents are coming.Smash-ups, signals wrong, washouts, trestles rotten,Red and yellow ac-ci-dents.But somehow and somewhere the end of the runThe train gets put together againAnd the caboose and the green tail lightsFade down the right of way like a new white hope.
I never heard a mockingbird in KentuckySpilling its heart in the morning.
I never saw the snow on Chimborazo.It's a high white Mexican hat, I hear.
I never had supper with Abe Lincoln.Nor a dish of soup with Jim Hill.
But I've been around.I know some of the boys here who can go a little.I know girls good for a burst of speed any time.
I heard Williams and WalkerBefore Walker died in the bughouse.
I knew a mandolin playerWorking in a barber shop in an Indiana town,And he thought he had a million dollars.
I knew a hotel girl in Des Moines.She had eyes; I saw her and said to myselfThe sun rises and the sun sets in her eyes.I was her steady and her heart went pit-a-pat.We took away the money for a prize waltz at a Brotherhood dance.She had eyes; she was safe as the bridge over the Mississippi at Burlington; I married her.
Last summer we took the cushions going west.Pike's Peak is a big old stone, believe me.It's fastened down; something you can count on.
It's going to come out all right—do you know?The sun, the birds, the grass—they know.They get along—and we'll get along.
Words in this poem
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- somewhere adv.
- In some place unknown or not specified; in one place or another.
- caboose n.
- A house on deck, where the cooking is done; -- commonly called the galley. [Cf. D. kabuis, kombuis, Dan. kabys, Sw. kabysa, G. kabuse a little room or hut. The First part of the word seems to be allied to W. cab cabin, booth. Cf. Cabin.]
- mandolin n.
- A small and beautifully shaped instrument resembling the lute. [F. mandoline, It. mandolino, dim. of mandola, fr. L. pandura. See Bandore.]
- barber n.
- One whose occupation it is to shave or trim the beard, and to cut and dress the hair of his patrons. Barber's itch. See under Itch. [OE. barbour, OF. barbeor, F. barbier, as if fr. an assumed L. barbator, fr. barba beard. See 1st Barb.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- waltz n.
- A dance performed by two persons in circular figures with a whirling motion; also, a piece of music composed in triple measure for this kind of dance. [G. walzer, from walzen to roll, revolve, dance, OHG. walzan to roll; akin to AS. wealtan. See Welter.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Caboose Thoughts is in the public domain. This text is taken from Cornhuskers, Wikisource; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Carl Sandburg, Caboose Thoughts, in Cornhuskers (1918), text of Wikisource, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sandburg-cornhuskers/caboose-thoughts.html, id L29012.
Form and metre
Caboose Thoughts is 41 lines in 12 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
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 AA- knowA · knowA · along
- 2 -A-A waiting · comeA · gray · comeA
- 3 A-BABB-- dentsA · coming · rottenB · dentsA · runB · againB · lights · hope
- 12 AA- knowA · knowA · along
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 |
|---|---|---|
| It's going to come out all right—do you know? | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| The sun, the birds, the grass—they know. | 8 | ········ |
| They get along—and we'll get along. | 9 | ··˘/···˘/ |
| Some days will be rainy and you will sit waiting | 12 | ····/˘····/˘ |
| And the letter you wait for won't come, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And I will sit watching the sky tear off gray and gray | 13 | ····/˘······· |
| And the letter I wait for won't come. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| There will be ac-ci-dents. | 7 | ···//·· |
| I know ac-ci-dents are coming. | 9 | ··//···/˘ |
| Smash-ups, signals wrong, washouts, trestles rotten, | 11 | ··/˘·/·/˘/˘ |
| Red and yellow ac-ci-dents. | 8 | ··/˘//·· |
| But somehow and somewhere the end of the run | 11 | ·/··/······ |
| The train gets put together again | 9 | ····˘/˘˘/ |
| And the caboose and the green tail lights | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| Fade down the right of way like a new white hope. | 11 | ··········· |
| I never heard a mockingbird in Kentucky | 12 | ·/˘··/˘··˘/˘ |
| Spilling its heart in the morning. | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| I never saw the snow on Chimborazo. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| It's a high white Mexican hat, I hear. | 10 | ····/˘˘··· |
| I never had supper with Abe Lincoln. | 10 | ·/˘·/˘··/˘ |
| Nor a dish of soup with Jim Hill. | 8 | ········ |
| But I've been around. | 5 | ····· |
| I know some of the boys here who can go a little. | 13 | ···········/˘ |
| I know girls good for a burst of speed any time. | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| I heard Williams and Walker | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Before Walker died in the bughouse. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| I knew a mandolin player | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Working in a barber shop in an Indiana town, | 14 | /˘··/˘····˘/˘· |
| And he thought he had a million dollars. | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| I knew a hotel girl in Des Moines. | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| She had eyes; I saw her and said to myself | 11 | ··········/ |
| The sun rises and the sun sets in her eyes. | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| I was her steady and her heart went pit-a-pat. | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| We took away the money for a prize waltz at a Brotherhood dance. | 17 | ··˘/·/˘······/˘·· |
| She had eyes; she was safe as the bridge over the Mississippi at Burlington; I married her. | 24 | ·············˘/˘·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Last summer we took the cushions going west. | 11 | ·/˘···/˘/˘· |
| Pike's Peak is a big old stone, believe me. | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| It's fastened down; something you can count on. | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| It's going to come out all right—do you know? | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| The sun, the birds, the grass—they know. | 8 | ········ |
| They get along—and we'll get along. | 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.