The Three Drinkers

Robert Graves 1895 (Wimbledon) – 1985 (Deià)



Blacksmith Green had three strong sons,
With bread and beef did fill 'em,
Now John and Ned are perished and dead,
But plenty remains of William.

John Green was a whiskey drinker,
The Land of Cakes supplied him,
Till at last his soul flew out by the hole
That the fierce drink burned inside him.

Ned Green was a water drinker,
And, Lord, how Ned would fuddle!
He rotted away his mortal clay
Like an old boot thrown in a puddle.

Will Green was a wise young drinker,
Shrank from whiskey or water,
But he made good cheer with headstrong beer,
And married an alderman's daughter.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
94

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXXX ABCB ACXX AAXA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 567
Words 108
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Robert Graves

Robert von Ranke Graves was an English poet, scholar/translator/writer of antiquity specializing in Classical Greece and Rome, novelist and soldier in World War One. more…

All Robert Graves poems | Robert Graves Books

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