Chapter 1
Produced by Maria Cecilia Lim and PG Distributed Proofreaders
RILEY CHILD-RHYMES
James Whitcomb Riley
WITH HOOSIER PICTURES BY
Will Vawter
Copyright 1890, 1896, 1898 and 1905
WITH HALE AFFECTION AND ABIDING FAITH THESE RHYMES AND PICTURES ARE INSCRIBED TO THE CHILDREN EVERYWHERE
_He owns the bird-songs of the hills-- The laughter of the April rills; And his are all the diamonds set In Morning's dewy coronet,-- And his the Dusk's first minted stars That twinkle through the pasture-bars And litter all the skies at night With glittering scraps of silver light;-- The rainbow's bar, from rim to rim, In beaten gold, belongs to him._
CONTENTS
[Note from the transcriber: The Table of Contents below was taken from the book and is an alphabetical list of the poems. A second Table of Contents, listing the poems in the order they occur in this book, has been provided by the transcriber.]
AT AUNTY'S HOUSE
BEAR STORY, THE
BOY LIVES ON OUR FARM, THE
BOYS' CANDIDATE, THE
BUMBLEBEE, THE
CIRCUS-DAY PARADE, THE
CURLY LOCKS
DAYS GONE BY, THE
DOWN AROUND THE RIVER
ENVOY
FUNNY LITTLE FELLOW, THE
GRANDFATHER SQUEERS
HAPPY LITTLE CRIPPLE, THE
HOME-MADE FAIRY-TALE, A
IMPETUOUS RESOLVE, AN
JOLLY MILLER, THE
LIFE-LESSON, A
LITTLE COAT, THE
LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE
LUGUBRIOUS WHING-WHANG, THE
NAUGHTY CLAUDE
NINE LITTLE GOBLINS, THE
OLD AUNT MARY'S
OLD HAY-MOW, THE
OLD TRAMP, THE
ON THE SUNNY SIDE
OUR HIRED GIRL
PET COON, THE
PIXY PEOPLE, THE
RAGGEDY MAN, THE
RIDER OF THE KNEE, THE
RUNAWAY BOY, THE
SOUTH WIND AND THE SUN, THE
SQUIRTGUN UNCLE MAKED ME, THE
SUDDEN SHOWER, A
TIME OF CLEARER TWITTERINGS
WAITIN' FER THE CAT TO DIE
WHO SANTY-CLAUS WUZ
WINTER FANCIES
Contents (Listed in the Order They Appear)
LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE
THE RAGGEDY MAN
CURLY LOCKS
THE FUNNY LITTLE FELLOW
THE HAPPY LITTLE CRIPPLE
THE RIDER OF THE KNEE
DOWN AROUND THE RIVER
AT AUNTY'S HOUSE
THE DAYS GONE BY
THE BUMBLEBEE
THE BOY LIVES ON OUR FARM
THE SQUIRTGUN UNCLE MAKED ME
THE OLD TRAMP
OLD AUNT MARY'S
WINTER FANCIES
THE RUNAWAY BOY
THE LITTLE COAT
AN IMPETUOUS RESOLVE
WHO SANTY-CLAUS WUZ
THE NINE LITTLE GOBLINS
TIME OF CLEARER TWITTERINGS
THE CIRCUS-DAY PARADE
THE LUGUBRIOUS WHING-WHANG
WAITIN' FER THE CAT TO DIE
NAUGHTY CLAUDE
THE SOUTH WIND AND THE SUN
THE JOLLY MILLER
OUR HIRED GIRL
THE BOYS' CANDIDATE
THE PET COON
THE OLD HAY-MOW
ON THE SUNNY SIDE
A SUDDEN SHOWER
GRANDFATHER SQUEERS
THE PIXY PEOPLE
A LIFE-LESSON
A HOME-MADE FAIRY-TALE
THE BEAR STORY
ENVOY
ILLUSTRATIONS
WITCH-TALES
THEY WAS TWO GREAT BIG BLACK THINGS A-STANDIN' BY HER SIDE
AN' WHEN THEY TURN'T THE KIVVERS DOWN
LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE--TAILPIECE
THE RAGGEDY MAN--TITLE
HE SHOWED ME THE HOLE 'AT THE WUNKS IS GOT
CURLY LOCKS--TITLE
SIT ON A CUSHION AND SEW A FINE SEAM
THE FUNNY LITTLE FELLOW--TITLE
NEVER KNEW A BABY THAT WOULDN'T CROW FOR HIM
THE HAPPY LITTLE CRIPPLE--TITLE
AN' I PECK ON THE WINDER
AN' COOKS A' EGG FER ME
THE HAPPY LITTLE CRIPPLE--TAILPIECE
THE RIDER OF THE KNEE
DOWN AROUND THE RIVER--TITLE
NOON-TIME AND JUNE-TIME DOWN AROUND THE RIVER
DOWN AROUND THE RIVER--TAILPIECE
AT AUNTY'S HOUSE--TITLE
WE ET OUT ON THE PORCH
THE DAYS GONE BY--TITLE
IN THE ORCHARD
THE BUMBLEBEE
THE BOY LIVES ON OUR FARM--TITLE
STAND UP LIKE HIM AN' DRIVE
THE SQUIRTGUN UNCLE MAKED ME--TITLE
THE SQUIRTGUN--TAILPIECE
AN' NEN HE PEELED OFF THE BARK
THE OLD TRAMP
WE PATTER ALONG IN THE DUST AGAIN
OLD AUNT MARY'S--TAILPIECE
WINTER FANCIES--TITLE
WINTER WITHOUT AND WARMTH WITHIN
HERE IN MY ROOM I'M AS SNUGLY SHUT
AN' A GREA'-BIG PIG WENT "BOOH!"
HUG WITE CLOSE ROUND HER NECK
THE LITTLE COAT
THE LITTLE COAT--TAILPIECE
AN IMPETUOUS RESOLVE--TITLE
I'M GO' TO BE A BAKER
A-SLINGIN' PIE-CRUST 'LONG THE ROAD
WHO SANTY-CLAUS WUZ--TITLE
AN' QUAR'L WITH HIS FROSTED HEELS
WHO SANTY-CLAUS WUZ--TAILPIECE
THE NINE LITTLE GOBLINS
THE NINE LITTLE GOBLINS--TAILPIECE
TIME OF CLEARER TWITTERINGS--TITLE
WHERE THE SHELLBARK HICKORY TREE
THE CIRCUS-DAY PARADE
HOW THE CAGES JOLTED PAST
AND, LAST OF ALL, THE CLOWN
THE LUGUBRIOUS WHING-WHANG--TITLE
WAITIN' FER THE CAT TO DIE--TITLE
BAREFOOTED, HUNGRY, LEAN, ORNRY BOYS
WHY YOU ROCK SO SLOW?
NAUGHTY CLAUDE
THE SOUTH WIND AND THE SUN--TITLE
THIS PAIR OF MERRY FAYS
THE JOLLY MILLER--TITLE
THAT CAT O' YOURN I'D KILL HER
WUZ PARCHIN' CORN FER THE RAGGEDY MAN
THE BOYS' CANDIDATE
THE PET COON--TITLE
AN' NEN WHEN BILLY FIGHTED ME
THE OLD HAY-MOW--TITLE
IN OUR HAY-MOW WHERE I KEEP STORE
ON THE SUNNY SIDE--TITLE
AS A ROMPING BOY
A SUDDEN SHOWER--TITLE
SCHOOLGIRL FACES ... GLEAM FROM THE SHAWLS ABOUT THEIR HEADS
A SUDDEN SHOWER--TAILPIECE
GRANDFATHER SQUEERS--TITLE
AND SMOKE LEAF-TOBACCO
GRANDFATHER SQUEERS--TAILPIECE
THE PIXY PEOPLE--TITLE
WINGED ABOVE THE WALK
A LIFE-LESSON--TITLE
BUT HEAVEN HOLDS ALL FOR WHICH YOU SIGH
A HOME-MADE FAIRY-TALE--TITLE
A LITTLE DUDE-FAIRY
ENVOY
RILEY CHILD-RHYMES
LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE
Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay, An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away, An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep, An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep; An' all us other childern, when the supper things is done, We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about, An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you Ef you Don't Watch Out!
Onc't they was a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,-- So when he went to bed at night, away up stairs, His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl, An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't there at all! An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press, An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'wheres, I guess; But all they ever found was thist his pants an' roundabout:-- An' the Gobble-uns'll git you Ef you Don't Watch Out!
An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin, An' make fun of ever'one, an' all her blood an' kin; An' onc't, when they was "company," an' ole folks was there, She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care! An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide, They was two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side, An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about! An' the Gobble-uns'll git you Ef you Don't Watch Out!
An' little Orphant Annie says when the blaze is blue, An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes _woo-oo!_ An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray, An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,-- You better mind yer parents, an' yer teachers fond an' dear, An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear, An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about, Er the Gobble-uns'll git you Ef you Don't Watch Out!
THE RAGGEDY MAN
O The Raggedy Man! He works fer Pa; An' he's the goodest man ever you saw! He comes to our house every day, An' waters the horses, an' feeds 'em hay; An' he opens the shed--an' we all ist laugh When he drives out our little old wobble-ly calf; An' nen--ef our hired girl says he can-- He milks the cow fer 'Lizabuth Ann.-- Aint he a' awful good Raggedy Man? Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
W'y, The Raggedy Man--he's ist so good He splits the kindlin' an' chops the wood; An' nen he spades in our garden, too, An' does most things 'at _boys_ can't do!-- He clumbed clean up in our big tree An' shooked a' apple down fer me-- An' nother'n', too, fer 'Lizabuth Ann-- An' nother'n', too, fer The Raggedy Man.-- Aint he a' awful kind Raggedy Man? Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
An' The Raggedy Man, he knows most rhymes An' tells 'em, ef I be good, sometimes: Knows 'bout Giunts, an' Griffuns, an' Elves, An' the Squidgicum-Squees 'at swallers therselves! An', wite by the pump in our pasture-lot, He showed me the hole 'at the Wunks is got, 'At lives 'way deep in the ground, an' can Turn into me, er 'Lizabuth Ann! Aint he a funny old Raggedy Man? Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
The Raggedy Man--one time when he Wuz makin' a little bow-'n'-orry fer me, Says "When _you're_ big like your Pa is, Air you go' to keep a fine store like his-- An' be a rich merchunt--an' wear fine clothes?-- Er what _air_ you go' to be, goodness knows!" An' nen he laughed at 'Lizabuth Ann, An' I says "'M go' to be a Raggedy Man!-- I'm ist go' to be a nice Raggedy Man!" Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
CURLY LOCKS
_Curly Locks! Curly Locks! wilt thou be mine? Thou shalt not wash the dishes, nor yet feed the swine,-- But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam, And feast upon strawberries, sugar and cream._
Curly Locks! Curly Locks! wilt thou be mine? The throb of my heart is in every line, And the pulse of a passion as airy and glad In its musical beat as the little Prince had!
Thou shalt not wash the dishes, nor yet feed the swine!-- O I'll dapple thy hands with these kisses of mine Till the pink of the nail of each finger shall be As a little pet blush in full blossom for me.
But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam, And thou shalt have fabric as fair as a dream,-- The red of my veins, and the white of my love, And the gold of my joy for the braiding thereof.
And feast upon strawberries, sugar and cream From a service of silver, with jewels agleam,-- At thy feet will I bide, at thy beck will I rise, And twinkle my soul in the night of thine eyes!
_Curly Locks! Curly Locks! wilt thou be mine? Thou shalt not wash the dishes, nor yet feed the swine.-- But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam, And feast upon strawberries, sugar and cream._
THE FUNNY LITTLE FELLOW
'Twas a Funny Little Fellow Of the very purest type, For he had a heart as mellow As an apple over-ripe; And the brightest little twinkle When a funny thing occurred, And the lightest little tinkle Of a laugh you ever heard!
His smile was like the glitter Of the sun in tropic lands, And his talk a sweeter twitter Than the swallow understands; Hear him sing--and tell a story-- Snap a joke--ignite a pun,-- 'Twas a capture--rapture--glory, And explosion--all in one!
Though he hadn't any money-- That condiment which tends To make a fellow "honey" For the palate of his friends;-- Sweet simples he compounded-- Sovereign antidotes for sin Or taint,--a faith unbounded That his friends were genuine.
He wasn't honored, may be-- For his songs of praise were slim,-- Yet I never knew a baby That wouldn't crow for him; I never knew a mother But urged a kindly claim Upon him as a brother, At the mention of his name.
The sick have ceased their sighing And have even found the grace Of a smile when they were dying As they looked upon his face; And I've seen his eyes of laughter Melt in tears that only ran As though, swift dancing after, Came the Funny Little Man.
He laughed away the sorrow, And he laughed away the gloom We are all so prone to borrow From the darkness of the tomb; And he laughed across the ocean Of a happy life, and passed, With a laugh of glad emotion, Into Paradise at last.
And I think the Angels knew him, And had gathered to await His coming, and run to him Through the widely-opened Gate-- With their faces gleaming sunny For his laughter-loving sake, And thinking, "What a funny Little Angel he will make!"
THE HAPPY LITTLE CRIPPLE
I'm thist a little cripple boy, an' never goin' to grow An' get a great big man at all!--'cause Aunty told me so. When I was thist a baby onc't, I falled out of the bed An' got "The Curv'ture of the Spine"--'at's what the Doctor said. I never had no Mother nen--fer my Pa runned away An' dassn't come back here no more--'cause he was drunk one day An' stobbed a man in thish-ere town, an' couldn't pay his fine! An' nen my Ma she died--an' I got "Curv'ture of the Spine!"
I'm nine years old! An' you can't guess how much I weigh, I bet!-- Last birthday I weighed thirty-three!--An' I weigh thirty yet! I'm awful little fer my size--I'm purt' nigh littler 'nan Some babies is!--an' neighbers all calls me "The Little Man!" An' Doc one time he laughed an' said: "I 'spect, first thing you know, You'll have a little spike-tail coat an' travel with a show!" An' nen I laughed--till I looked round an' Aunty was a-cryin'-- Sometimes she acts like that, 'cause I got "Curv'ture of the Spine."
I set--while Aunty's washin'--on my little long-leg stool, An' watch the little boys an' girls a-skippin' by to school; An' I peck on the winder, an' holler out an' say: "Who wants to fight The Little Man 'at dares you all today?" An', nen the boys climbs on the fence, an' little girls peeks through, An' they all says: "Cause you're so big, you think we're 'feared o' you!" An' nen they yell, an' shake their fist at me, like I shake mine-- They're thist in fun, you know, 'cause I got "Curv'ture of the Spine!"
At evening, when the ironin's done, an' Aunty's fixed the fire, An' filled an' lit the lamp, an' trimmed the wick an' turned it higher, An' fetched the wood all in fer night, an' locked the kitchen door, An' stuffed the ole crack where the wind blows in up through the floor-- She sets the kittle on the coals, an' biles an' makes the tea, An' fries the liver an' the mush, an' cooks a egg fer me; An' sometimes--when I cough so hard--her elderberry wine Don't go so bad fer little boys with "Curv'ture of the Spine!"
But Aunty's all so childish-like on my account, you see, I'm 'most afeard she'll be took down--an' 'at's what bothers me!-- 'Cause ef my good old Aunty ever would git sick an' die, I don't know what she'd do in heaven--till _I_ come, by an' by:-- Fer she's so ust to all my ways, an' ever'thing, you know, An' no one there like me, to nuss an' worry over so!-- 'Cause all the little childerns there's so straight an' strong an' fine, They's nary angel 'bout the place with "Curv'ture of the Spine!"
THE RIDER OF THE KNEE
Knightly Rider of the Knee Of Proud-prancing Unclery! Gaily mount, and wave the sign Of that mastery of thine.
Pat thy steed and turn him free, Knightly Rider of the Knee! Sit thy charger as a throne-- Lash him with thy laugh alone:
Sting him only with the spur Of such wit as may occur, Knightly Rider of the Knee, In thy shriek of ecstasy.
Would, as now, we might endure, Twain as one--thou miniature Ruler, at the rein of me-- Knightly Rider of the Knee!
DOWN AROUND THE RIVER
Noon-time an' June-time, down around the river! Have to furse with 'Lizey Ann--but lawzy! I fergive her! Drives me off the place, an' says 'at all 'at she's a-wishin', Land o' gracious! time'll come I'll git enough o' fishin'! Little Dave, a-choppin' wood, never 'pears to notice; Don't know where she's hid his hat, er keerin' where his coat is,-- Specalatin', more'n like, he haint a-goin' to mind me, An' guessin' where, say twelve o'clock, a feller'd likely find me!
Noon-time an' June-time, down around the river! Clean out o' sight o' home, an' skulkin' under kivver Of the sycamores, jack-oaks, an' swamp-ash an' ellum-- Idies all so jumbled up, you kin hardly tell 'em!-- _Tired_, you know, but _lovin'_ it, an' smilin' jes' to think 'at Any _sweeter_ tiredness you'd fairly want to _drink_ it! Tired o' fishin'--tired o' fun--line out slack an' slacker-- All you want in all the world's a little more tobacker!
Hungry, but _a-hidin'_ it, er jes' a-not a-keerin':-- Kingfisher gittin' up an' skootin' out o' hearin'; Snipes on the t'other side, where the County Ditch is, Wadin' up an' down the aidge like they'd rolled their britches! Old turkle on the root kindo-sorto drappin' Intoo th' worter like he don't know how it happen! Worter, shade an' all so mixed, don't know which you'd orter Say; th' _worter_ in the shadder--_shadder_ in the _worter!_
Somebody hollerin'--'way around the bend in Upper Fork--where yer eye kin jes' ketch the endin' Of the shiney wedge o' wake some muss-rat's a-makin' With that pesky nose o' his! Then a sniff o' bacon, Corn-bred an' 'dock-greens--an' little Dave a-shinnin' 'Crost the rocks an' mussel-shells, a-limpin' an' a-grinnin', With yer dinner fer ye, an' a blessin' from the giver, Noon-time an' June-time down around the river!
AT AUNTY'S HOUSE
One time, when we'z at Aunty's house-- 'Way in the country!--where They's ist but woods--an' pigs, an' cows-- An' all's out-doors an' air!-- An' orchurd-swing; an' churry-trees-- An' _churries_ in 'em!--Yes, an' these-- Here red-head birds steals all they please, An' tetch 'em ef you dare!-- W'y, wunst, one time, when we wuz there, _We et out on the porch!_
Wite where the cellar-door wuz shut The table wuz; an' I Let Aunty set by me an' cut My vittuls up--an' pie. 'Tuz awful funny!--I could see The red-heads in the churry-tree; An' bee-hives, where you got to be So keerful, goin' by;-- An' "Comp'ny" there an' all!--an' we-- _We et out on the porch!_
An' I ist et _p'surves_ an' things 'At Ma don't 'low me to-- An' _chickun-gizzurds_--(don't like _wings_ Like _Parunts_ does! do _you?_) An' all the time, the wind blowed there, An' I could feel it in my hair, An' ist smell clover _ever'_where!-- An' a' old red-head flew Purt' nigh wite over my high-chair, _When we et on the porch!_
THE DAYS GONE BY
O the days gone by! O the days gone by! The apples in the orchard, and the pathway through the rye; The chirrup of the robin, and the whistle of the quail As he piped across the meadows sweet as any nightingale; When the bloom was on the clover, and the blue was in the sky, And my happy heart brimmed over, in the days gone by.
In the days gone by, when my naked feet were tripped By the honeysuckle tangles where the water-lilies dipped, And the ripples of the river lipped the moss along the brink, Where the placid-eyed and lazy-footed cattle came to drink, And the tilting snipe stood fearless of the truant's wayward cry And the splashing of the swimmer, in the days gone by.
O the days gone by! O the days gone by! The music of the laughing lip, the lustre of the eye; The childish faith in fairies, and Aladdin's magic ring-- The simple, soul-reposing, glad belief in everything,-- When life was like a story, holding neither sob nor sigh, In the golden olden glory of the days gone by.
THE BUMBLEBEE
You better not fool with a Bumblebee!-- Ef you don't think they can sting--you'll see! They're lazy to look at, an' kindo' go Buzzin' an' bummin' aroun' so slow, An' ac' so slouchy an' all fagged out, Danglin' their legs as they drone about The hollyhawks 'at they can't climb in 'Ithout ist a-tumble-un out agin! Wunst I watched one climb clean 'way In a jim'son-blossom, I did, one day,-- An' I ist grabbed it--an' nen let go-- An' "_Ooh-ooh! Honey! I told ye so!_" Says The Raggedy Man; an' he ist run An' pullt out the stinger, an' don't laugh none, An' says: "They _has_ ben folks, I guess, 'At thought I wuz predjudust, more er less,-- Yit I still muntain 'at a Bumblebee Wears out his welcome too quick fer me!"
THE BOY LIVES ON OUR FARM
The boy lives on our Farm, he's not Afeard o' horses none! An' he can make 'em lope, er trot, Er rack, er pace, er run. Sometimes he drives two horses, when He comes to town an' brings A wagon-full o' 'taters nen, An' roastin'-ears an' things.
Two horses is "a team," he says, An' when you drive er hitch, The right-un's a "near-horse," I guess Er "off"--I don't know which-- The Boy lives on our Farm, he told Me, too, 'at he can see, By lookin' at their teeth, how old A horse is, to a T!
I'd be the gladdest boy alive Ef I knowed much as that, An' could stand up like him an' drive, An' ist push back my hat, Like he comes skallyhootin' through Our alley, with one arm A-wavin' Fare-ye-well! to you-- The Boy lives on our Farm!
THE SQUIRTGUN UNCLE MAKED ME
Uncle Sidney, when he wuz here, Maked me a squirtgun out o' some Elder-bushes 'at growed out near Where wuz the brickyard--'way out clear To where the toll-gate come!
So when we walked back home again, He maked it, out in our woodhouse where Wuz the old workbench, an' the old jack-plane, An' the old 'pokeshave, an' the tools all lay'n' Ist like he wants 'em there.
He sawed it first with the old hand-saw; An' nen he peeled off the bark, an' got Some glass an' scraped it; an' told 'bout Pa, When _he_ wuz a boy an' fooled his Ma, An' the whippin' 'at he caught.
Nen Uncle Sidney, he took an' filed A' old arn ramrod; an' one o' the ends He screwed fast into the vise; an' smiled, Thinkin', he said, o' when he wuz a child, 'Fore him an' Pa wuz mens.
He punched out the peth, an' nen he put A plug in the end with a hole notched through; Nen took the old drawey-knife an' cut An' maked a handle 'at shoved clean shut But ist where yer hand held to.
An' he wropt th'uther end with some string an' white Piece o' the sleeve of a' old tored shirt; An' nen he showed me to hold it tight, An' suck in the water an' work it right An' it 'ud ist squirt an' squirt!
THE OLD TRAMP
A Old Tramp slep' in our stable wunst, An' The Raggedy Man he caught An' roust him up, an' chased him off Clean out through our back lot!
An' th' Old Tramp hollered back an' said,-- "You're a _purty_ man!--_You_ air!-- With a pair o' eyes like two fried eggs, An' a nose like a Bartlutt pear!"
OLD AUNT MARY'S
Wasn't it pleasant, O brother mine, In those old days of the lost sunshine Of youth--when the Saturday's chores were through, And the "Sunday's wood" in the kitchen, too, And we went visiting, "me and you," Out to Old Aunt Mary's?
It all comes back so clear to-day! Though I am as bald as you are gray-- Out by the barn-lot, and down the lane, We patter along in the dust again, As light as the tips of the drops of the rain, Out to Old Aunt Mary's!
We cross the pasture, and through the wood Where the old gray snag of the poplar stood, Where the hammering "red-heads" hopped awry, And the buzzard "raised" in the "clearing" sky And lolled and circled, as we went by Out to Old Aunt Mary's.
And then in the dust of the road again; And the teams we met, and the countrymen; And the long highway, with sunshine spread As thick as butter on country bread, Our cares behind, and our hearts ahead Out to Old Aunt Mary's.