Analysis of The Little Old Log Cabin
When a man gits on his uppers in a hard-pan sort of town,
An' he ain't got nothin' comin' an' he can't afford ter eat,
An' he's in a fix for lodgin' an' he wanders up an' down,
An' you'd fancy he'd been boozin', he's so locoed 'bout the feet;
When he's feelin' sneakin' sorry an' his belt is hangin' slack,
An' his face is peaked an' gray-like an' his heart gits down an' whines,
Then he's apt ter git a-thinkin' an' a-wishin' he was back
In the little ol' log cabin in the shadder of the pines.
When he's on the blazin' desert an' his canteen's sprung a leak,
An' he's all alone an' crazy an' he's crawlin' like a snail,
An' his tongue's so black an' swollen that it hurts him fer to speak,
An' he gouges down fer water an' the raven's on his trail;
When he's done with care and cursin' an' he feels more like to cry,
An' he sees ol' Death a-grinnin' an' he thinks upon his crimes,
Then he's like ter hev' a vision, as he settles down ter die,
Of the little ol' log cabin an' the roses an' the vines.
Oh, the little ol' log cabin, it's a solemn shinin' mark,
When a feller gits ter sinnin' an' a-goin' ter the wall,
An' folks don't understand him an' he's gropin' in the dark,
An' he's sick of bein' cursed at an' he's longin' fer his call!
When the sun of life's a-sinkin' you can see it 'way above,
On the hill from out the shadder in a glory 'gin the sky,
An' your mother's voice is callin', an' her arms are stretched in love,
An' somehow you're glad you're goin', an' you ain't a-scared to die;
When you'll be like a kid again an' nestle to her breast,
An' never leave its shelter, an' forget, an' love, an' rest.
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGXGD HIHIJGJGKK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101111100011111 11111011110111 11001111110111 1110111111101 111110111111 111111111111111 11111010101111 00101110001101 1110110111101 11101110111101 111111101111111 1111110101111 11111011111111 11111011110111 111110101110111 101011101010101 10101110101011 1010111101101 111011111001 1111111111111 10111011111101 10111010010101 11101111011101 1111111110111 11110101110101 11011101011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,654 |
Words | 320 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 10 |
Lines Amount | 26 |
Letters per line (avg) | 45 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 388 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 106 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:44 min read
- 114 Views
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"The Little Old Log Cabin" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32574/the-little-old-log-cabin>.
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