What Smith Knew About Farming Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDDEEFFFFFGGFFH HFFIJKKKJJLLLLMNFFOB BPPQOQQOFFRRSSRBBFFT OOFFFFFBBUUUVVVFFFFF FFFFFFFFEEEOPPPPBBBB FFFFBBOMBBMLLOWWFFFF XOFFFLLNONYYBBBBOBBB ZZRRDDDNNJJBBBLLFF| There wasn't two purtier farms in the state | A |
| Than the couple of which I'm about to relate | A |
| Jinin' each other belongin' to Brown | B |
| And jest at the edge of a flourishin' town | B |
| Brown was a man as I understand | C |
| That allus had handled a good 'eal o' land | C |
| And was sharp as a tack in drivin' a trade | D |
| For that's the way most of his money was made | D |
| And all the grounds and the orchards about | E |
| His two pet farms was all tricked out | E |
| With poppies and posies | F |
| And sweet smellin' rosies | F |
| And hundreds o' kinds | F |
| Of all sorts o' vines | F |
| To tickle the most horticultural minds | F |
| And little dwarf trees not as thick as your wrist | G |
| With ripe apples on 'em as big as your fist | G |
| And peaches Siberian crabs and pears | F |
| And quinces Well ANY fruit ANY tree bears | F |
| And th purtiest stream jest a swimmin' with fish | H |
| And JEST O'MOST EVERYTHING HEART COULD WISH | H |
| The purtiest orch'rds I wish you could see | F |
| How purty they was fer I know it 'ud be | F |
| A regular treat but I'll go ahead with | I |
| My story A man by the name o' Smith | J |
| A bad name to rhyme | K |
| But I reckon that I'm | K |
| Not goin' back on a Smith nary time | K |
| 'At hadn't a soul of kin nor kith | J |
| And more money than he knowed what to do with | J |
| So he comes a ridin' along one day | L |
| And HE says to Brown in his offhand way | L |
| Who was trainin' some newfangled vines round a bay | L |
| Winder 'Howdy do look a here say | L |
| What'll you take fer this property here | M |
| I'm talkin' o' leavin' the city this year | N |
| And I want to be | F |
| Where the air is free | F |
| And I'll BUY this place if it ain't too dear ' | O |
| Well they grumbled and jawed aroun' | B |
| 'I don't like to part with the place ' says Brown | B |
| 'Well ' says Smith a jerkin' his head | P |
| 'That house yonder bricks painted red | P |
| Jest like this'n a PURTIER VIEW | Q |
| Who is it owns it ' 'That's mine too ' | O |
| Says Brown as he winked at a hole in his shoe | Q |
| 'But I'll tell you right here jest what I KIN do | Q |
| If you'll pay the figgers I'll sell IT to you ' | O |
| Smith went over and looked at the place | F |
| Badgered with Brown and argied the case | F |
| Thought that Brown's figgers was rather too tall | R |
| But findin' that Brown wasn't goin' to fall | R |
| In final agreed | S |
| So they drawed up the deed | S |
| Fer the farm and the fixtures the live stock an' all | R |
| And so Smith moved from the city as soon | B |
| As he possibly could But 'the man in the moon' | B |
| Knowed more'n Smith o' farmin' pursuits | F |
| And jest to convince you and have no disputes | F |
| How little he knowed | T |
| I'll tell you his 'mode ' | O |
| As he called it o' raisin' 'the best that growed ' | O |
| In the way o' potatoes | F |
| Cucumbers tomatoes | F |
| And squashes as lengthy as young alligators | F |
| 'Twas allus a curious thing to me | F |
| How big a fool a feller kin be | F |
| When he gits on a farm after leavin' a town | B |
| Expectin' to raise himself up to renown | B |
| And reap fer himself agricultural fame | U |
| By growin' of squashes WITHOUT ANY SHAME | U |
| As useless and long as a technical name | U |
| To make the soil pure | V |
| And certainly sure | V |
| He plastered the ground with patent manure | V |
| He had cultivators and double hoss plows | F |
| And patent machines fer milkin' his cows | F |
| And patent hay forks patent measures and weights | F |
| And new patent back action hinges fer gates | F |
| And barn locks and latches and such little dribs | F |
| And patents to keep the rats out o' the cribs | F |
| Reapers and mowers | F |
| And patent grain sowers | F |
| And drillers | F |
| And tillers | F |
| And cucumber hillers | F |
| And horries and had patent rollers and scrapers | F |
| And took about ten agricultural papers | F |
| So you can imagine how matters turned out | E |
| But BROWN didn't have not a shadder o' doubt | E |
| That Smith didn't know what he was about | E |
| When he said that 'the OLD way to farm was played out ' | O |
| But Smith worked ahead | P |
| And when any one said | P |
| That the OLD way o' workin' was better instead | P |
| O' his 'modern idees ' he allus turned red | P |
| And wanted to know | B |
| What made people so | B |
| INFERNALLY anxious to hear theirselves crow | B |
| And guessed that he'd manage to hoe his own row | B |
| Brown he come onc't and leant over the fence | F |
| And told Smith that he couldn't see any sense | F |
| In goin' to such a tremendous expense | F |
| Fer the sake o' such no account experiments | F |
| 'That'll never make corn | B |
| As shore's you're born | B |
| It'll come out the leetlest end of the horn ' | O |
| Says Brown as he pulled off a big roastin' ear | M |
| From a stalk of his own | B |
| That had tribble outgrown | B |
| Smith's poor yaller shoots and says he 'Looky here | M |
| THIS corn was raised in the old fashioned way | L |
| And I rather imagine that THIS corn'll pay | L |
| Expenses fer RAISIN' it What do you say ' | O |
| Brown got him then to look over his crop | W |
| HIS luck that season had been tip top | W |
| And you may surmise | F |
| Smith opened his eyes | F |
| And let out a look o' the wildest surprise | F |
| When Brown showed him punkins as big as the lies | F |
| He was stuffin' him with about offers he's had | X |
| Fer his farm 'I don't want to sell very bad ' | O |
| He says but says he | F |
| 'Mr Smith you kin see | F |
| Fer yourself how matters is standin' with me | F |
| I UNDERSTAND FARMIN' and I'd better stay | L |
| You know on my farm I'm a makin' it pay | L |
| I oughtn't to grumble I reckon I'll clear | N |
| Away over four thousand dollars this year ' | O |
| And that was the reason he made it appear | N |
| Why he didn't care about sellin' his farm | Y |
| And hinted at his havin' done himself harm | Y |
| In sellin' the other and wanted to know | B |
| If Smith wouldn't sell back ag'in to him So | B |
| Smith took the bait and says he 'Mr Brown | B |
| I wouldn't SELL out but we might swap aroun' | B |
| How'll you trade your place fer mine ' | O |
| Purty sharp way o' comin' the shine | B |
| Over Smith Wasn't it Well sir this Brown | B |
| Played out his hand and brought Smithy down | B |
| Traded with him an' workin' it cute | Z |
| Raked in two thousand dollars to boot | Z |
| As slick as a whistle an' that wasn't all | R |
| He managed to trade back ag'in the next fall | R |
| And the next and the next as long as Smith stayed | D |
| He reaped with his harvests an annual trade | D |
| Why I reckon that Brown must 'a' easily made | D |
| On an AVERAGE nearly two thousand a year | N |
| Together he made over seven thousand clear | N |
| Till Mr Smith found he was losin' his health | J |
| In as big a proportion almost as his wealth | J |
| So at last he concluded to move back to town | B |
| And sold back his farm to this same Mr Brown | B |
| At very low figgers by gittin' it down | B |
| Further'n this I have nothin' to say | L |
| Than merely advisin' the Smiths fer to stay | L |
| In their grocery stores in flourishin' towns | F |
| And leave agriculture alone and the Browns | F |
James Whitcomb Riley
(2)
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