Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair

Stephen C. Foster 1826 (Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania) – 1864 (New York City, New York)



1     I dream of Jeanie with the light brown hair,
2     Borne, like a vapor, on the summer air;
3     I see her tripping where the bright streams play,
4     Happy as the daisies that dance on her way.
5     Many were the wild notes her merry voice would pour.
6     Many were the blithe birds that warbled them o'er:
7     Oh! I dream of Jeanie with the light brown hair,
8     Floating, like a vapor, on the soft summer air.

9     I long for Jeanie with the daydawn smile,
10   Radiant in gladness, warm with winning guile;
11   I hear her melodies, like joys gone by,
12   Sighing round my heart o'er the fond hopes that die: --
13   Sighing like the night wind and sobbing like the rain, --
14   Wailing for the lost one that comes not again:
15   Oh! I long for Jeanie, and my heart bows low,
16   Never more to find her where the bright waters flow.

17   I sigh for Jeanie, but her light form strayed
18   Far from the fond hearts round her native glade;
19   Her smiles have vanished and her sweet songs flown,
20   Flitting like the dreams that have cheered us and gone.
21   Now the nodding wild flowers may wither on the shore
22   While her gentle fingers will cull them no more:
23   Oh! I sigh for Jeanie with the light brown hair,
24   Floating, like a vapor, on the soft summer air.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 02, 2023

1:15 min read
107

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBCXAA DDEEXXFF GGXXCCAA
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,284
Words 248
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8

Stephen C. Foster

Stephen Collins Foster, known as "the father of American music", was an American songwriter known primarily for his parlor and minstrel music. more…

All Stephen C. Foster poems | Stephen C. Foster Books

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