A Song of the Open Road
We in our wandering,Blithesome and squandering,Tara, tantara, teino!
Eat to satiety,Drink with propriety;Tara, tantara, teino!
Laugh till our sides we split,Rags on our hides we fit;Tara, tantara, teino!
Jesting eternally,Quaffing infernally:Tara, tantara, teino!
Craft's in the bone of us,Fear 'tis unknown of us:Tara, tantara, teino!
When we're in neediness,Thieve we with greediness:Tara, tantara, teino!
Brother catholical,Man apostolical,Tara, tantara, teino!
Say what you will have done,What you ask 'twill be done!Tara, tantara, teino!
Folk, fear the toss of theHorns of philosophy!Tara, tantara, teino!
Here comes a quadrupleSpoiler and prodigal!Tara, tantara, teino!
License and vanityPamper insanity:Tara, tantara, teino!
As the Pope bade us do,Brother to brother's true:Tara, tantara, teino!
Brother, best friend, adieu!Now, I must part from you!Tara, tantara, teino!
When will our meeting be?Glad shall our greeting be!Tara, tantara, teino!
Vows valedictoryNow have the victory;Tara, tantara, teino!
Clasped on each other's breast,Brother to brother pressed,Tara, tantara, teino!
Words in this poem
- blithesome a.
- Cheery; gay; merry.
- propriety n.
- Individual right to hold property; ownership by personal title; property. [F. propriété, L. proprietas, fr. proprius one's own, proper. See Property, Proper.]
- eternally adv.
- In an eternal manner.
- infernally adv.
- In an infernal manner; diabolically.
- neediness n.
- The state or quality of being needy; want; poverty; indigence.
- thieve v. t.
- To practice theft; to steal. [AS. ge.]
- apostolical a.
- Pertaining to an apostle, or to the apostles, their times, or their peculiar spirit; as, an apostolical mission; the apostolic age. [L. apostolicus, Gr. apostolique.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- spoiler n.
- One who spoils; a plunderer; a pillager; a robber; a despoiler.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Song of the Open Road is in the public domain. This text is taken from Wine, Women, and Song Mediaeval Latin Students' songs; Now first translated into English verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #18044; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Addington Symonds, A Song of the Open Road, in Wine, Women and Song (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18044, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/symonds-wine-women/a-song-of-the-open-road.html, id L11810.
Form and metre
A Song of the Open Road is 48 lines in 16 stanzas of 3 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 58% of the lines. 85% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.3 syllables. 16 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets.
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- wanderingA · squanderingA · teino
- 2 AA- satietyA · proprietyA · teino
- 3 AA- splitA · fitA · teino
- 4 AA- eternallyA · infernallyA · teino
- 5 AA- usA · usA · teino
- 6 AA- needinessA · greedinessA · teino
- 7 AA- catholicalA · apostolicalA · teino
- 8 AA- doneA · doneA · teino
- 11 AA- vanityA · insanityA · teino
- 12 AA- doA · trueA · teino
- 13 AA- adieuA · youA · teino
- 14 AA- beA · beA · teino
- 15 AA- valedictoryA · victoryA · teino
- 16 AA- breastA · pressedA · teino
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 |
|---|---|---|
| We in our wandering, | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| Blithesome and squandering, | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Eat to satiety, | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Drink with propriety; | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Laugh till our sides we split, | 6 | ··/··· |
| Rags on our hides we fit; | 6 | ··/··· |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Jesting eternally, | 6 | /˘˘/˘˘ |
| Quaffing infernally: | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Craft's in the bone of us, | 6 | ······ |
| Fear 'tis unknown of us: | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| When we're in neediness, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Thieve we with greediness: | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Brother catholical, | 6 | /˘˘/˘˘ |
| Man apostolical, | 6 | ······ |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Say what you will have done, | 6 | ······ |
| What you ask 'twill be done! | 6 | ······ |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Folk, fear the toss of the | 6 | ······ |
| Horns of philosophy! | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Here comes a quadruple | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Spoiler and prodigal! | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| License and vanity | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Pamper insanity: | 6 | /˘˘/˘˘ |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| As the Pope bade us do, | 6 | ······ |
| Brother to brother's true: | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Brother, best friend, adieu! | 6 | /˘··˘/ |
| Now, I must part from you! | 6 | ······ |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| When will our meeting be? | 6 | ··//˘· |
| Glad shall our greeting be! | 6 | ··//˘· |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Vows valedictory | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Now have the victory; | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Clasped on each other's breast, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Brother to brother pressed, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Tara, tantara, teino! | 7 | /˘····· |
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