James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916)
The Raggedy Man
1O the Raggedy Man! He works fer Pa;
2An' he's the goodest man ever you saw!
3He comes to our house every day,
4An' waters the horses, an' feeds 'em hay;
5An' he opens the shed -- an' we all ist laugh
6When he drives out our little old wobble-ly calf;
7An' nen -- ef our hired girl says he can --
8He milks the cow fer 'Lizabuth Ann. --
9 Ain't he a' awful good Raggedy Man?
10 Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
11W'y, The Raggedy Man -- he's ist so good,
12He splits the kindlin' an' chops the wood;
13An' nen he spades in our garden, too,
14An' does most things 'at boys can't do. --
15He clumbed clean up in our big tree
16An' shooked a' apple down fer me --
17An' 'nother 'n', too, fer 'Lizabuth Ann --
18An' 'nother 'n', too, fer The Raggedy Man. --
19 Ain't he a' awful kind Raggedy Man?
20 Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
21An' The Raggedy Man one time say he
22Pick' roast' rambos from a' orchurd-tree,
23An' et 'em -- all ist roast' an' hot! --
24An' it's so, too! -- 'cause a corn-crib got
25Afire one time an' all burn' down
26On "The Smoot Farm," 'bout four mile from town --
27On "The Smoot Farm"! Yes -- an' the hired han'
28'At worked there nen 'uz The Raggedy Man! --
29 Ain't he the beatin'est Raggedy Man?
30 Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
31The Raggedy Man's so good an' kind
32He'll be our "horsey," an' "haw" an' mind
33Ever'thing 'at you make him do --
34An' won't run off -- 'less you want him to!
35I drived him wunst way down our lane
36An' he got skeered, when it 'menced to rain,
37An' ist rared up an' squealed and run
38Purt' nigh away! -- an' it's all in fun!
39Nen he skeered ag'in at a' old tin can ...
40 Whoa! y' old runaway Raggedy Man!
41 Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
42An' The Raggedy Man, he knows most rhymes,
43An' tells 'em, ef I be good, sometimes:
44Knows 'bout Giunts, an' Griffuns, an' Elves,
45An' the Squidgicum-Squees 'at swallers the'rselves:
46An', wite by the pump in our pasture-lot,
47He showed me the hole 'at the Wunks is got,
48'At lives 'way deep in the ground, an' can
49Turn into me, er 'Lizabuth Ann!
50Er Ma, er Pa, er The Raggedy Man!
51 Ain't he a funny old Raggedy Man?
52 Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
53An' wunst, when The Raggedy Man come late,
54An' pigs ist root' thue the garden-gate,
55He 'tend like the pigs 'uz bears an' said,
56"Old Bear-shooter'll shoot 'em dead!"
57An' race' an' chase' 'em, an' they'd ist run
58When he pint his hoe at 'em like it's a gun
59An' go "Bang! -- Bang!" nen 'tend he stan'
60An' load up his gun ag'in! Raggedy Man!
61 He's an old Bear-shooter Raggedy Man!
62 Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
63An' sometimes The Raggedy Man lets on
64We're little prince-children, an' old King's gone
65To git more money, an' lef' us there --
66And Robbers is ist thick ever'where;
67An' nen -- ef we all won't cry, fer shore --
68The Raggedy Man he'll come and "'splore
69The Castul-halls," an' steal the "gold" --
70An' steal us, too, an' grab an' hold
71An' pack us off to his old "Cave"! -- An'
72 Haymow's the "cave" o' The Raggedy Man! --
73 Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
74The Raggedy Man -- one time, when he
75Wuz makin' a little bow-'n'-orry fer me,
76Says "When you're big like your Pa is,
77Air you go' to keep a fine store like his --
78An' be a rich merchunt -- an' wear fine clothes? --
79Er what air you go' to be, goodness knows?"
80An' nen he laughed at 'Lizabuth Ann,
81An' I says "'M go' to be a Raggedy Man! --
82 I'm ist go' to be a nice Raggedy Man!"
83 Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
Notes
5] ist: just.
7] nen: then.
ef: if.
our hired girl: Elizabeth Ann (cf. 8 and Riley's poem "The Hired Girl").
22] rambos: rambutans, a red, spiny, lichi-like fruit (?).
24] corn-crib: manger for corn (and presumably fruit).
29] beatin'est: "beatingest," i.e., `the one to beat others most at what he does.'
32] be our "horsey": play at being our \
horse.
haw: turn left (note courtesy of Scott Davis).
mind: agree to do.
35] wunst: once.
36] skeered: scared.
'menced: commenced.
37] rared up: reared up (like a frightened horse).
38] Purt' nigh: pretty near.
44] Griffuns: griffins, a creature with the head, front body, and wings of an eagle, and the hind legs and tail of a lion.
45] Squidgicum-Squees: something short and plump ("squidgy"), maybe like a squid, and perhaps sounding like a "squee gee" (squeeking as its rubber blade wipes away water). An invented creature.
swallers: swallows.
46] wite: right.
47] Wunks: possibly from `wonky' (? meaning `unstable'), although the term is early 20th-century and British. An invented creature, and a shape-shifter and body-snatcher.
55] 'tend: pretend.
58] pint: point.
67] fer shore: for sure.
72] Haymow: "A rick or stack of hay ... [here] applied to the pile of hay stored in a hay-house or barn, or to the compartment of a barn in which hay is stored" (OED).
75] bow-'n'-orry: bow-and-arrow.
81] 'M go': I'm going.
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: James Whitcomb Riley, Complete Works, Memorial edn. in 10 vols. (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1916): VI, 1458-61. PS 2700 F16 Robarts Library.
First publication date:
December
1890
Publication date note: Century Magazine (Dec. 1890)
RPO poem editor: Ian Lancashire
RP edition: RPO 1998.
Recent editing: 2:2002/1/16*1:2003/4/16*1:2004/8/1
Form: couplets
Other poems by James Whitcomb Riley
