The Rhyme of the Restless Ones
We couldn't sit and study for the law;The stagnation of a bank we couldn't stand;For our riot blood was surging, and we didn't need much urgingTo excitements and excesses that are banned.So we took to wine and drink and other things,And the devil in us struggled to be free;Till our friends rose up in wrath, and they pointed out the path,And they paid our debts and packed us o'er the sea.
Oh, they shook us off and shipped us o'er the foam,To the larger lands that lure a man to roam;And we took the chance they gaveOf a far and foreign grave,And we bade goodbye for evermore to home.
And some of us are climbing on the peak,And some of us are camping on the plain;By pine and palm you'll find us, with never claim to bind us,By track and trail you'll meet us once again.
We are fated serfs to freedom--sky and sea;We have failed where slummy cities overflow;But the stranger ways of earth know our pride and know our worth,And we go into the dark as fighters go.
Yes, we go into the night as brave men go,Though our faces they be often streaked with woe;Yet we're hard as cats to kill,And our hearts are reckless still,And we've danced with death a dozen times or so.
And you'll find us in Alaska after gold,And you'll find us herding cattle in the South.We like strong drink and fun; and when the race is run,We often die with curses in our mouth.
We are wild as colts unbroke, but never mean;Of our sins we've shoulders broad to bear the blame;But we'll never stay in town, and we'll never settle down,And we'll never have an object or an aim.
No, there's that in us that time can never tame;And life will always seem a careless game;And they'd better far forget--Those who say they love us yet--Forget, blot out with bitterness our name.
Words in this poem
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- camping n.
- Lodging in a camp.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Rhyme of the Restless Ones is in the public domain. This text is taken from Songs of a Sourdough, Project Gutenberg ebook #25546; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert W. Service, The Rhyme of the Restless Ones, in Songs of a Sourdough (1907), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #25546, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/service-sourdough/the-rhyme-of-the-restless-ones.html, id L08127.
Form and metre
The Rhyme of the Restless Ones is 39 lines in 8 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is AABBA, in 3 of the 8 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is alexandrines, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.5 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 5% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in alexandrines.
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 -A-A-B-B law · standA · urging · bannedA · things · freeB · path · seaB
- 2 AABBA foamA · roamA · gaveB · graveB · homeA
- 3 -A-A peak · plainA · us · againA
- 4 -A-A sea · overflowA · worth · goA
- 5 AABBA goA · woeA · killB · stillB · soA
- 6 -A-A gold · southA · run · mouthA
- 7 -A-A mean · blameA · down · aimA
- 8 AABBA tameA · gameA · forgetB · yetB · nameA
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 alexandrines. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| We couldn't sit and study for the law; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| The stagnation of a bank we couldn't stand; | 11 | ·˘/˘····/˘· |
| For our riot blood was surging, and we didn't need much urging | 15 | ·//··/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| To excitements and excesses that are banned. | 11 | ·˘/˘··/˘··· |
| So we took to wine and drink and other things, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| And the devil in us struggled to be free; | 10 | ··/··/˘··· |
| Till our friends rose up in wrath, and they pointed out the path, | 14 | ·/·······/˘··· |
| And they paid our debts and packed us o'er the sea. | 11 | ···/······· |
| Oh, they shook us off and shipped us o'er the foam, | 11 | ··········· |
| To the larger lands that lure a man to roam; | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| And we took the chance they gave | 7 | ······· |
| Of a far and foreign grave, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And we bade goodbye for evermore to home. | 11 | ····/·/˘··· |
| And some of us are climbing on the peak, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And some of us are camping on the plain; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| By pine and palm you'll find us, with never claim to bind us, | 13 | ········/···· |
| By track and trail you'll meet us once again. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| We are fated serfs to freedom--sky and sea; | 11 | ··/˘··/˘··· |
| We have failed where slummy cities overflow; | 11 | ······/˘/˘· |
| But the stranger ways of earth know our pride and know our worth, | 14 | ··/˘····/···/· |
| And we go into the dark as fighters go. | 10 | ········/· |
| Yes, we go into the night as brave men go, | 11 | ··········· |
| Though our faces they be often streaked with woe; | 11 | ·//˘··/˘··· |
| Yet we're hard as cats to kill, | 7 | ······· |
| And our hearts are reckless still, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And we've danced with death a dozen times or so. | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| And you'll find us in Alaska after gold, | 11 | ·····˘/˘··· |
| And you'll find us herding cattle in the South. | 11 | ····/˘/˘··· |
| We like strong drink and fun; and when the race is run, | 12 | ············ |
| We often die with curses in our mouth. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/· |
| We are wild as colts unbroke, but never mean; | 10 | ········/· |
| Of our sins we've shoulders broad to bear the blame; | 11 | ·/··/˘····· |
| But we'll never stay in town, and we'll never settle down, | 12 | ··/·····//˘· |
| And we'll never have an object or an aim. | 10 | ··/··˘/··· |
| No, there's that in us that time can never tame; | 10 | ········/· |
| And life will always seem a careless game; | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| And they'd better far forget-- | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Those who say they love us yet-- | 7 | ······· |
| Forget, blot out with bitterness our name. | 10 | ˘/···/˘˘/· |
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