The Ballad Of The Leather Medal Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDED CFEF GHGH IAIA EIEI JKJK LMLM NONO GPGP QRQR ISIS TUTU VWVW LXLX YZYZ DA2DA2 ZEZE LILI B2C2B2C2 D2A2E2A2 F2G2F2G2 H2EH2B2| Only a Leather Medal hanging there on the wall | A |
| Dingy and frayed and faded dusty and worn and old | B |
| Yet of my humble treasures I value it most of all | A |
| And I wouldn't part with that medal if you gave me its weight in gold | B |
| - | |
| Read the inscription For Valour presented to Millie MacGee | C |
| Ah how in mem'ry it takes me back to the auld lang syne | D |
| When Millie and I were sweethearts and fair as a flower was she | E |
| Yet little I dreamt that her bosom held the heart of heroine | D |
| - | |
| Listen I'll tell you about it An orphan was Millie MacGee | C |
| Living with Billie her brother under the Yukon sky | F |
| Sam her pa was cremated in the winter of nineteen three | E |
| As duly and truly related by the pen of an author guy | F |
| - | |
| A cute little kid was Billie solemn and silken of hair | G |
| The image of Jackie Coogan in the days before movies could speak | H |
| Devoted to him was Millie with more than a mother's care | G |
| And happy were they together in their cabin on Bunker Creek | H |
| - | |
| 'Twas only a mining village where hearts are simple and true | I |
| And Millie MacGee was schoolma'am loved and admired by all | A |
| Yet no one dreamed for a moment she'd do what she dared to do | I |
| But wait and I'll try to tell you as clear as I can recall | A |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| Christmas Eve in the school house A scene of glitter and glee | E |
| The children eager and joyful parents and neighbours too | I |
| Right in the forefront Millie close to the Christmas Tree | E |
| While Billie her brother recited The Shooting of Dan McGrew | I |
| - | |
| I reckon you've heard the opus a ballad of guts and gore | J |
| Of a Yukon frail and a frozen trail and a fight in a dringing dive | K |
| It's on a par I figger with The Face on the Bar Room Floor | J |
| And the boys who wrote them pieces ought to be skinned alive | K |
| - | |
| Picture that scene of gladness the honest faces aglow | L |
| The kiddies gaping and spellbound as Billie strutted his stuff | M |
| The stage with its starry candles and there in the foremost row | L |
| Millie bright as a fairy in radient flounce and fluff | M |
| - | |
| More like an angel I thought her all she needed was wings | N |
| And I sought for a smile seraphic but her eyes were only for Bill | O |
| So there was I longing and loving and dreaming the craziest things | N |
| And Billie shouting and spouting and everyone rapt and still | O |
| - | |
| Proud as a prince was Billie bang in the footlights' glare | G |
| And quaking for him was Millie as she followed every word | P |
| Then just as he reached the climax ranting and sawing the air | G |
| Ugh How it makes me shudder The horrible thing occurred | P |
| - | |
| 'Twas the day when frocks were frilly and skirts were scraping the ground | Q |
| And the snowy flounces of Millie like sea foam round her swept | R |
| Humbly adoring I watched her when oh my heart gave a bound | Q |
| Hoary and scarred and hideous out from the tree it crept | R |
| - | |
| A whiskered beady eyes monster grisly and grim of hue | I |
| Savage and slinking and silent born of the dark and dirt | S |
| Dazed by the glare and the glitter it wavered a moment or two | I |
| Then like a sinister shadow it vanished 'neath Millie's skirt | S |
| - | |
| I stared had my eyes deceived me I shivered I held my breath | T |
| Surly I must have dreamed it I quivered I made to rise | U |
| Then my God it was real Millie grew pale as death | T |
| And oh such a look of terror woke in her lovely eyes | U |
| - | |
| Did her scream ring out Ah no sir It froze at her very lips | V |
| Clenching her teeth she checked it and I saw her slim hands lock | W |
| Grasping and gripping tensely with desperate finger tips | V |
| Something that writhed and wriggled under her dainty frock | W |
| - | |
| Quick I'd have dashed to her rescue but fiercely she signalled No | L |
| Her eyes were dark with anguish but her lips were set and grim | X |
| Then I knew she was thinking of Billie the kiddy must have his show | L |
| Reap to the full his glory nothing mattered but him | X |
| - | |
| So spiked to my chair with horror there I shuddered and saw | Y |
| Her fingrs frenziedly clutching and squeezing with all their might | Z |
| Something that squirmed and struggled a deamon of tooth and claw | Y |
| Fighting with fear and fury under her garment white | Z |
| - | |
| Oh could I only aid her But the wide room lay between | D |
| And again her eyes besought me Steady they seamed to say | A2 |
| Stay where you are Bob Simmons don't let us have a scene | D |
| Billie will soon be finished Only a moment stay | A2 |
| - | |
| A moment Ah yes I got her I knew how night after night | Z |
| She'd learned him each line of that ballad with patience and pride and glee | E |
| With gesture and tone dramatic she'd taught him how to recite | Z |
| And now at the last to fail him no it must never be | E |
| - | |
| A moment It seemed like ages Why was Billie so slow | L |
| He stammered Twice he repeated The Lady that's known as Lou | I |
| The kiddy was stuck and she knew it Her face was frantic with woe | L |
| Could she but come to his rescue Could she remember the cue | I |
| - | |
| I saw her whispering wildly as she leaned to the frightened boy | B2 |
| But Billie stared like a dummy and I stifled an anxious curse | C2 |
| Louder louder she prompted then his face illumined with joy | B2 |
| And panting flushed and exultant he finished the final verse | C2 |
| - | |
| So the youngster would up like a whirlwind while cheer resounded on cheer | D2 |
| His piece was the hit of the evening Bravo I heard them say | A2 |
| But there in the heart of the racket was one who could not hear | E2 |
| The loving sister who'd coached him for Millie had fainted away | A2 |
| - | |
| I rushed to her side and grabbed her then others saw her distress | F2 |
| And all were eager to aid me as I pillowed that golden head | G2 |
| But her arms were tense and rigid and clutched in the folds of her dress | F2 |
| Unlocking her hands they found it A RAT and the brute was dead | G2 |
| - | |
| In silence she'd crushed its life out rather than scare the crowd | H2 |
| And queer little Billie's triumph Hey Mother what about tea | E |
| I've just been telling a story that makes me so mighty proud | H2 |
| Stranger let me present you my wife that was Millie MacGee | B2 |
Robert William Service
(1)
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Howard Ross: My edition of Bar-Room Ballads has the line given here as "Unlocking her hands they found it . . . A RAT . . . and the brute was gone." instead written as "Unlocking her hands they found it . . . A RAT . . . and the brute was dead." This preserves the rhyme.
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