Analysis of Gwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races
Stephen C. Foster 1826 (Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania) – 1864 (New York City, New York)
1 De Camptown ladies sing dis song -- [Chorus] Doo-dah! doo-dah!
2 [Solo] De Camp-town race-track five miles long -- [Chorus] Oh! doo-dah day!
3 [Solo] I come down dah wid my hat caved in -- Doo-dah! doo-dah!
4 I go back home wid a pocket full of tin -- [Chorus] Oh! doo-dah day!
5 Gwine to run all night!
6 Gwine to run all day!
7 I'll bet my money on de bob-tail nag --
8 Somebody bet on de bay.
9 [Solo] De long tail filly and de big black hoss -- [Chorus] Doo-dah! doo-dah!
10 [Solo] Dey fly de track and dey both cut across -- [Chorus] Oh! doo-dah-day!
11 [Solo] De blind hoss sticken in a big mud hole -- [Chorus] Doo-dah! doo-dah!
12 [Solo] Can't touch bottom wid a ten foot pole -- [Chorus] Oh! doo-dah-day!
13 Gwine to run all night!
14 Gwine to run all day!
15 I'll bet my money on de bob-tail nag --
16 Somebody bet on de bay.
17 [Solo] Old muley cow come on to de track -- [Chorus] Doo-dah! doo-dah!
18 [Solo] De bob-tail fling her ober his back -- [Chorus] Oh! doo-dah-day!
19 [Solo] Den fly along like a rail-road car -- [Chorus] Doo-dah! doo-dah!
20 [Solo] Runnin' a race wid a shootin' star -- [Chorus] Oh! doo-dah-day!
21 Gwine to run all night!
22 Gwine to run all day!
23 I'll bet my money on de bob-tail nag --
24 Somebody bet on de bay.
25 See dem flyin' on a ten mile heat -- [Chorus] Doo-dah doo-dah!
26 Round de race track, den repeat -- [Chorus] Oh! doo-dah-day!
27 I win my money on de bob-tail nag -- [Chorus] Doo-dah! doo-dah!
28 I keep my money in an old tow-bag -- [Chorus] Oh! doo-dah-day!
29 Gwine to run all night!
30 Gwine to run all day!
31 I'll bet my money on de bob-tail nag --
32 Somebody bet on de bay.
| Scheme | ABAB CBDB ABAB CBDB ABAB CBDB ABAB CBDB |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Quatrain |
| Metre | 111011111111 11111111111111 11111111101111 1111101011111111 11111 11111 1111011111 101111 1111100111111111 1111101110111111 111110011111111 111101011111111 11111 11111 1111011111 101111 11111111111111 111110101111111 111011011111111 1101101111111 11111 11111 1111011111 101111 1111011111111 111110111111 111101111111111 111100111111111 11111 11111 1111011111 101111 |
| Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
| Characters | 1,732 |
| Words | 330 |
| Sentences | 44 |
| Stanzas | 8 |
| Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
| Lines Amount | 32 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
| Words per line (avg) | 13 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 148 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 51 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:40 min read
- 109 Views
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"Gwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35640/gwine-to-run-all-night%2C-or-de-camptown-races>.
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