Herman Melville

The Portent

Hanging from the beam,
Slowly swaying (such the law),
Gaunt the shadow on the green,
Shenandoah!
The cut is on the crown
(Lo, John Brown),
And the stabs shall heal no more.

Hidden in the cap
Is the anguish none can draw;
So your future veils its face,
Shenandoah!
But the streaming beard is shown
(Weird John Brown),
The meteor of the war.

poem by Herman MelvilleReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Related quotes

Shenandoah

Oh Shenandoah,
I long to hear you,
Away you rolling river,
Oh Shenandoah,
I long to hear you,
Away, I'm bound away
'Cross the wide Missouri.

Oh Shenandoah,
I love your daughter,
Away you rolling river,
I'll take her
'cross your rollin' water,
Away, I'm bound away
'Cross the wide Missouri.

'Tis seven years
since last I saw you.
Away you rolling river,
'Tis seven years
since last I saw you.
Away, I'm bound away
'Cross the wide Missouri.

Oh Shenandoah,
I love your daughter,
Away you rolling river,
Oh Shenandoah,
I'll come to claim her.
Away, I'm bound away
'Cross the wide Missouri.

In all these years,
Whene'er I saw her,
We have kept
Our love a secret,
Oh! Shenandoah,
I do adore her,
Away, I'm bound away
'Cross the wide Missouri.

Oh Shenandoah,
She's bound to leave you.
Away you rolling river,
Oh Shenandoah,
I'll not deceive you.
Away, I'm bound away
'Cross the wide Missouri.

poem by Anonymous AmericasReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Oh Shenandoah

Oh, shenandoah, I long to hear you
Look away, you rollin river
Oh, shenandoah, I long to hear you
Look away. were bound away
Across the wide missouri
Now the missouri is a mighty river
Look away, you rollin river.
Indians camp along her border
Look away. were bound away
Across the wide missouri
Well a white man loved an indian maiden
Look away, you rollin river
With notions his canoe was laden
Look away, were bound away
Across the wide missouri
Oh shenandoah, I love your daughter
Look away, you rollin river
It was for her Id cross the water.
Look away, were bound away
Across the wide missouri
For seven long years I courted sally
Look away, you rollin river
Seven more years I longed to have her
Look away, were bound away
Across the wide missouri
Well, its fare-thee-well, my dear,
Im bound to leave you
Look away you rollin river
Shenandoah, I will not deceive you
Look away, were bound away
Across the wide missouri

song performed by by WaterboysReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Shenandoah

Oh, shenandoah, I long to hear you
Look away, you rollin river
Oh, shenandoah, I long to hear you
Look away. were bound away
Across the wide missouri
Now the missouri is a mighty river
Look away, you rollin river.
Indians camp along her border
Look away. were bound away
Across the wide missouri
Well a white man loved an indian maiden
Look away, you rollin river
With notions his canoe was laden
Look away, were bound away
Across the wide missouri
Oh shenandoah, I love your daughter
Look away, you rollin river
It was for her Id cross the water.
Look away, were bound away
Across the wide missouri
For seven long years I courted sally
Look away, you rollin river
Seven more years I longed to have her
Look away, were bound away
Across the wide missouri
Well, its fare-thee-well, my dear,
Im bound to leave you
Look away you rollin river
Shenandoah, I will not deceive you
Look away, were bound away
Across the wide missouri

song performed by by Bob DylanReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Timberline

(Emmylouy Harris Paul Kennerley)
Oh the stars they did shine
The night you swore that you'd be mine
And you promised always to be true
And to be kind
On that Shenandoah Hill
Where our love bloomed until
I went away and left those
Promises behind
But when I rise from the timberline
And call your name will you remember mine
And the sweetest kiss will be the tie that binds
Like the wild, wild rose and the columbine
To that place I will go
Where the wildwood flowers grow
With a ribbon in my hair
And a grown of calico
To those Shenandoah Hills
I'll go back I swear I will
To the sweetest kiss my lips will ever know

song performed by by Emmylou HarrisReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

There once was a chap from Kilkerry,
Who's arms were as brown as a berry,
But the hue of his face
As he tied up his lace
Was as red as a bottle of sherry.

(Written Feb/March 1995)

quote by by John Carter BrownReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

John Brown

(To be sung by a leader and chorus, the leader singing
the body of the poem, while the chorus interrupts with
the question.)


I’ve been to Palestine.
WHAT DID YOU SEE IN PALESTINE?
I saw the ark of Noah—
It was made of pitch and pine.
I saw old Father Noah
Asleep beneath his vine.
I saw Shem, Ham and Japhet
Standing in a line.
I saw the tower of Babel
In the gorgeous sunrise shine—
By a weeping willow tree
Beside the Dead Sea.

I’ve been to Palestine.
WHAT DID YOU SEE IN PALESTINE?
I saw abominations
And Gadarene swine.
I saw the sinful Canaanites
Upon the shewbread dine,
And spoil the temple vessels
And drink the temple wine.
I saw Lot’s wife, a pillar of salt
Standing in the brine—
By a weeping willow tree
Beside the Dead Sea.

I’ve been to Palestine.
WHAT DID YOU SEE IN PALESTINE?
Cedars on Mount Lebanon,
Gold in Ophir’s mine,
And a wicked generation
Seeking for a sign
And Baal’s howling worshippers
Their god with leaves entwine.
And . . .
I saw the war-horse ramping
And shake his forelock fine—
By a weeping willow tree
Beside the Dead Sea.

I’ve been to Palestine.
WHAT DID YOU SEE IN PALESTINE?
Old John Brown.
Old John Brown.
I saw his gracious wife
Dressed in a homespun gown.
I saw his seven sons
Before his feet bow down.
And he marched with his seven sons,
His wagons and goods and guns,
To his campfire by the sea,
By the waves of Galilee.

I’ve been to Palestine.
WHAT DID YOU SEE IN PALESTINE?
I saw the harp and psalt’ry
Played for Old John Brown.
I heard the ram’s horn blow,
Blow for Old John Brown.
I saw the Bulls of Bashan—
They cheered for Old John Brown.
I saw the big Behemoth—
He cheered for Old John Brown.
I saw the big Leviathan—
He cheered for Old John Brown.
I saw the Angel Gabriel
Great power to him assign.
I saw him fight the Canaanites
And set God’s Israel free.
I saw him when the war was done
In his rustic chair recline—
By his campfire by the sea,
By the waves of Galilee.

I’ve been to Palestine.
WHAT DID YOU SEE IN PALESTINE?
Old John Brown.
Old John Brown.
And there he sits
To judge the world.
His hunting-dogs
At his feet are curled.
His eyes half-closed,
But John Brown sees
The ends of the earth,
The Day of Doom.
And his shot-gun lies
Across his knees—
Old John Brown,
Old John Brown.

poem by Vachel LindsayReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Flypapers at Auntie's House.

Flypapers hung in the kitchen
Of Auntie’s house. Death traps
For flies that buzzed at their ends
Or buzzed noisily from surface
To surface unaware the brown
Sticky strips were there to trap.
You stared at the long brown strips
Covered in flies, some buzzed fruitlessly,
Others were quiet and still, having
Given up the will to buzz or make noise
Just hanging there black corpses on
Brown paper, a graveyard swaying in
The draught from the wide open door
To buzz and fly and irritate no more.

poem by Terry CollettReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

In Hospital

Under the shadow of a hawthorn brake,
Where bluebells draw the sky down to the wood,
Where, 'mid brown leaves, the primroses awake
And hidden violets smell of solitude;
Beneath green leaves bright-fluttered by the wing
Of fleeting, beautiful, immortal Spring,
I should have said, 'I love you,' and your eyes
Have said, 'I, too . . . ' The gods saw otherwise.

For this is winter, and the London streets
Are full of soldiers from that far, fierce fray
Where life knows death, and where poor glory meets
Full-face with shame, and weeps and turns away.
And in the broken, trampled foreign wood
Is horror, and the terrible scent of blood,
And love shines tremulous, like a drowning star,
Under the shadow of the wings of war.

poem by Edith NesbitReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Trees

Green with spendour when Summer's here,
Brown contender in Autumn's sphere,
Bare the branches in Winter's embrace,
New growth created, when Spring shows her face.

Stalwart trunks, with many years standing,
Leaves when over, steadily landing,
Branches swaying in the breeze,
How I love all kinds of trees.

Forests of green, where they all meet,
Swaying together as they all greet,
Each morning, when the light appears,
Each growing slowly over the years.

Sentinels of the land they survey,
Strong and upstanding in every way,
Graceful, mighty, powerful and fine,
Tall and sleek just like the Pine.

The Oak, Ash, Sycamore and Lime,
The Rowan, White Beam and Silver Birch sublime,
Each one giving of their glorious best,
To the World - The World's been blest.

What would we do without our trees,
Don't cut them down, will you please,
Remember how they give us shade,
From the sun, within the glade.

Stand and study these majestic creations,
Upright descendants of past relations,
Their dignity, against all weathers,
If it were us, we'd lose our tethers.

But these gallant trees require our care,
They give oxygen, in the air
That we breathe, so, if we want to survive,
Let us keep our trees alive.

poem by Ernestine NorthoverReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

In The Wide Brown Country

To the wide brown country the Seasons come and go
South in South Australia where the Murray flow
Through the wide brown country where the brown dust fly
When the gales are rushing down the southern sky.

In the wide brown country woods not there to see
Where the mighty Murray crawls on towards the sea
Through the bone dry paddocks that are never green
Mother Nature in this landscape in her brown only seen.

Where the black tribes fished and hunted centuries ago
Little of their culture others seem to know
Through the wide brown country they travelled far and wide
And theirs was a great culture but their culture with them died.

In the wide brown country wildering flowers are rare
And the sun parched paddocks always looking bare
And where only the hardiest can hope to survive
Emu, wombat and wallaby and grey roo seem to thrive.

In the wide brown country where the Murray flow
Onwards towards the ocean onwards ever slow
And the grass is growing brown even where the rains have been
In that brown old country that man has failed to green.

poem by Francis DugganReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

The Nut-Brown Ale

THE nut-brown ale, the nut-brown ale,
Puts down all drink when it is stale!
The toast, the nutmeg, and the ginger
Will make a sighing man a singer.
Ale gives a buffet in the head,
But ginger under-props the brain;
When ale would strike a strong man dead
Then nutmeg tempers it again.
The nut-brown ale, the nut-brown ale,
Puts down all drink when it is stale!

poem by John MarstonReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Where She Told Her Love

I saw her crop a rose
Right early in the day,
And I went to kiss the place
Where she broke the rose away
And I saw the patten rings
Where she o'er the stile had gone,
And I love all other things
Her bright eyes look upon.
If she looks upon the hedge or up the leafing tree,
The whitethorn or the brown oak are made dearer things to me.

I have a pleasant hill
Which I sit upon for hours,
Where she cropt some sprigs of thyme
And other little flowers;
And she muttered as she did it
As does beauty in a dream,
And I loved her when she hid it
On her breast, so like to cream,
Near the brown mole on her neck that to me a diamond shone;
Then my eye was like to fire, and my heart was like to stone.

There is a small green place
Where cowslips early curled,
Which on Sabbath day I traced,
The dearest in the world.
A little oak spreads o'er it,
And throws a shadow round,
A green sward close before it,
The greenest ever found:
There is not a woodland nigh nor is there a green grove,
Yet stood the fair maid nigh me and told me all her love.

poem by John ClareReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Inside you see something green

My outside is unassuming and blank
It is pretty when Im secure,
but when my shelter is broken, and
I see too much light
My ugliness shows
But I know when to hide,
b/c like the hulk
I turn green when something's not the same
and I have to walk a dark hall of shame
I see her there, my art, my talent, and my life
her pretty eyes, and pale white skin
that tortures me inside
then I become a color wheel.....
and eventually you see green
then I know my insides have escaped me

but I soon have to turn into the proud brown that I am
b/c someone told me about loving myself
& strong-and-fighting brown words seek
to fight the green away
& my heart begs to be rescued from the pain
the brown words win, but green lurks to escape
when I forget about the brown, and something's not the same

poem by Her Name Is TaylorReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Green Eyed Princess

My eyes where green since the day I was born,
not being told this makes me feel torn.
Now I can relate to “Green Eyed Lady” song,
it’s a song I can dance to all night long.
It has different meanings that you can project,
I feel like the flower child of the sixties to be honest.
Kissing a green eyed lady is like kissing the ocean,
I write about mermaids that make magical potions.
Elton John wrote, “You see I've forwgotten if they're green or they're blue”
Green is harder to come by there are less people with green only a few.
So, being a little different with green eyes and not brown,
makes me more of a princess in my fantasy story with the crown.

Written by Suzae Chevalier on October 10,2011
www.puppetpoems.com

poem by Christina SunriseReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Brown Baby

Oscar brown jr
Brown baby brown baby
As you grow up I want you to drink from the plenty cup
I want you to stand up tall and proud
And I want you to speak up clear and loud
Brown baby brown baby brown baby
As years go by I want you to go with your head up high
I want you to live by the justice code
And I want you to walk down freedoms road
You little brown baby
So lie away lie away spleeping lie away singing
Lie away sleeping lie away safe in my arms
Till your daddy and you mama protect you
? nd keep you safe from harm
Brown baby
It makes me glad you gonna have things that I never had
When out of mens heart all hate is hurled
Sweetie you gonna live in a better world
Brown baby brown baby brown baby

song performed by by Nina SimoneReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Departed Statesmen

Lines on our departed Canadian Statesmen, with a glance at our two living leaders.

Joseph Howe, none higher stood than thou,
Thou wert a man with lofty brow ;
D'Arcey McGee, so brillant and free,
From Green Isle you came, 'oer the sea.

George Cartier, to the French ever dear,
So high you stood without a peer ;
John Sandfield, * for long you did build
Power under economy's shield.

George Brown, thou man of renown,
Confederation you did crown ;
You now are all free from the strife,
The wrangle and jangle of political life.

But if a glance at this world you take,
You will there see John A. and Blake ;
But Sir John, the greatest power doth wield,
Our Canadian Beaconsfield.

poem by James McIntyreReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Green Eyed Prıncess

My eyes where green since the day I was born,
not being told this makes me feel torn.
Now I can relate to “Green Eyed Lady” song,
it’s a song I can dance to all night long.
It has different meanings that you can project,
I feel like the flower child of the sixties to be honest.
Kissing a green eyed lady is like kissing the ocean,
I write about mermaids that make magical potions.
Elton John wrote, “You see I've forwgotten if they're green or they're blue”
Green is harder to come by there are less people with green only a few.
So, being a little different with green eyes and not brown,
Makes me more of a princess in my fantasy story with the crown.

Written by Suzae Chevalier on October 10,2011
www.puppetpoems.com

poem by Suzae ChevalierReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share

The Ballad Of Go-go Brown

If thats why they call him go-go brown
Hed say (? )
If thats why some people put him down
Hed say it costs his name as go-go brown
All the girls in town
Used to follow him around
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
All the boys would sing
Were gonna make this go-go king
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
Go-go brown is the smartest guy by far
A brand new girlfriend and a brand new car
The girls all thought that he was heaven-sent
one day this boy will be a president
All the church bells ring
When that go-go used to sing
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
Here the people say
hes gonna be someone someday
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
Then one day some bad men came to call
And go-go knew its time to take a fall
Hes been smoking since the age of ten
He took some crack, he sold some smack
And now hes in the pen
All the girls in town
Used to follow him around
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
All the boys would sing
Were gonna make this go-go king
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
He raised them all
Yes he do
He faced the wall
Yes he did
He stood tall
Yes he do
Who did he let down
Just one man thats go-go brown (? )
All the church bells ring
When that go-go used to sing
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
Here the people say
hes gonna be someone someday
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
All the girls in town
Used to follow him around
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
All the boys would sing
Were gonna make that go-go king
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
All the girls in town
Used to follow him around
Go-go brown
Go-go brown

song performed by by Heaven 17Report problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Share

Bells For John Whiteside's Daughter

There was such speed in her little body,
And such lightness in her footfall,
It is no wonder her brown study Astonishes us all

Her wars were bruited in our high window.
We looked among orchard trees and beyond
Where she took arms against her shadow,
Or harried unto the pond

The lazy geese, like a snow cloud
Dripping their snow on the green grass,
Tricking and stopping, sleepy and proud,
Who cried in goose, Alas,

For the tireless heart within the little
Lady with rod that made them rise
From their noon apple-dreams and scuttle
Goose-fashion under the skies!

But now go the bells, and we are ready,
In one house we are sternly stopped
To say we are vexed at her brown study,
Lying so primly propped.

poem by John Crowe RansomReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share
Jean Toomer

Tell Me

Tell me, dear beauty of the dusk,
When purple ribbons bind the hill,
Do dreams your secret wish fulfill,
Do prayers, like kernels from the husk
Come from your lips? Tell me if when
The mountains loom at night, giant shades
Of softer shadow, swift like blades
Of grass seeds come to flower. Then
Tell me if the night winds bend
Them towards me, if the Shenandoah
As it ripples past your shore,
Catches the soul of what you send.

poem by Jean ToomerReport problemRelated quotes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Share