Analysis of Johnson's Boy

James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)



The world is turned ag'in' me,
And people says, 'They guess
That nothin' else is in me
But pure maliciousness!'
I git the blame for doin'
What other chaps destroy,
And I'm a-goin' to ruin
Because I'm 'Johnson's boy.'

THAT ain't my name--I'd ruther
They'd call me IKE or PAT--
But they've forgot the other--
And so have _I_, for that!
I reckon it's as handy,
When Nibsy breaks his toy,
Or some one steals his candy,
To say 'twas 'JOHNSON'S BOY!'

You can't git any water
At the pump, and find the spout
So durn chuck-full o' mortar
That you have to bore it out;
You tackle any scholar
In Wisdom's wise employ,
And I'll bet you half a dollar
He'll say it's 'Johnson's boy!'

Folks don't know how I suffer
In my uncomplainin' way--
They think I'm gittin' tougher
And tougher every day.
Last Sunday night, when Flinder
Was a-shoutin' out for joy,
And some one shook the winder,
He prayed for 'Johnson's boy.'

I'm tired of bein' follered
By farmers every day,
And then o' bein' collared
For coaxin' hounds away;
Hounds always plays me double--
It's a trick they all enjoy--
To git me into trouble,
Because I'm 'Johnson's boy.'

But if I git to Heaven,
I hope the Lord'll see
SOME boy has been perfect,
And lay it on to me;
I'll swell the song sonorous,
And clap my wings for joy,
And sail off on the chorus--
'Hurrah for 'Johnson's boy!''


Scheme ababcdcD efefadad egegeded ehehdded fhxhidiD caxajdjd
Poetic Form
Metre 0111101 010111 1101101 111 110111 110101 0101110 011101 1111110 111111 1101010 011111 1101110 11111 1111110 111101 1111010 1010101 1111110 1111111 1101010 01101 01111010 111101 1111110 0111 111110 0101001 11111 101111 0111010 111101 110111 1101001 011110 11101 111110 1011101 1110110 011101 1111110 11011 111101 011111 1101100 011111 0111010 011101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,291
Words 256
Sentences 10
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 48
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 164
Words per stanza (avg) 41
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:22 min read
114

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. more…

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