Analysis of Possum Song

James Weldon Johnson 1871 (Jacksonville) – 1938 (Wiscasset)



'Simmons ripenin' in de fall,
You better run,
Brudder 'Possum, run!
Mockin' bird commence to call,
You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!
You better run, Brudder'Possum, git out de way!
Run some whar an' hide!
Ole moon am sinkin'
Down behin' de tree.
Ole Eph am thinkin'
An' chuckelin' wid glee.
Ole Tige am blinkin'
An' frisky as kin be,
Yo' chances, Brudder 'Possum,
Look mighty slim to me.

Run, run, run, I tell you,
Run, Brudder 'Possum, run!
Run, run, run, I tell you,
Ole Eph's got a gun.
Pickaninnies grinnin'
Waitin' fu' to see de fun.
You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!
Run, Brudder 'Possum, run!
Brudder 'Possum take a tip;
You better run,
Brudder 'Possum, run!
'Tain't no use in actin' flip,
You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!
You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!
Run some whar an' hide.
Dey's gwine to houn' you
All along de line,
W'en dey done foun' you,
Den what's de use in sighin'?
Wid taters roun' you.
You sholy would tase fine—
So listen, Brudder 'Possum,
You better be a-flyin'.

Run, run, run, I tell you,
Run, Brudder 'Possum, run!
Run, run, run, I tell you,
Ole Eph's got a gun.
Pickaninnies grinnin'
Waitin' fu' to see de fun.
You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!
Run, Brudder 'Possum, run!


Scheme aBBaCcDbexebefe GBGBBBCBhBBhCCDgigbgifb GBGBBBCB
Poetic Form
Metre 101011 1101 1101 110111 11011101111 110111111 11111 1111 1111 11110 1111 1111 110111 110110 110111 111111 11101 111111 11101 11 111111 11011101111 11101 110101 1101 1101 1110101 11011101111 11011101111 11111 11111 10111 10011111 111101 1111 11111 110110 110101 111111 11101 111111 11101 11 111111 11011101111 11101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,251
Words 237
Sentences 25
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 15, 23, 8
Lines Amount 46
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 306
Words per stanza (avg) 78
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:13 min read
121

James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was an American author, educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is best remembered for his leadership within the NAACP as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and anthologies. He was also the first African-American professor at New York University. Later in life he was a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University. more…

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