Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE WORKING MAN'S SONG, by JOHN STUART BLACKIE Poem Explanation Poet's Biography First Line: I am no gentleman, not I! Last Line: Who made me so! Subject(s): Labor & Laborers; Work; Workers | ||||||||
I AM no gentleman, not I! No bowing, scraping thing! I bear my head more free and high Than titled count or king. I am no gentleman, not I! No, no, no! And only to one Lord on high My head I bow. I am no gentleman, not I! No vain and varnish'd thing! And from my heart, without a die, My honest thoughts I fling. I am no gentleman, not I! No, no, no! Our stout John Knox was none -- and why Should I be so? I am no gentleman, not I! No mincing, modish thing, In gay saloon a butterfly, Some wax-doll Miss to wing. I am no gentleman, not I! No, no, no! No moth, to sport in fashion's eye, A Bond Street beau. I am no gentleman, not I! No bully, braggart thing, With jockeys on the course to vie, With bull-dogs in the ring. I am no gentleman, not I! No, no, no! The working man might sooner die Than sink so low. I am no gentleman, not I! No star-bedizen'd thing! My fathers filch'd no dignity, By fawning to a king. I am no gentleman, not I! No, no, no! And to the wage of honesty My rank I owe. I am no gentleman, not I! No bowing, scraping thing! I bear my head more free and high Than titled count or king. I am no gentleman, not I! No, no, no! And thank the blessed God on high, Who made me so! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AFTER WORKING SIXTY HOURS AGAIN FOR WHAT REASON by HICOK. BOB DAY JOB AND NIGHT JOB by ANDREW HUDGINS BIXBY'S LANDING by ROBINSON JEFFERS ON BUILDING WITH STONE by ROBINSON JEFFERS LINES FROM A PLUTOCRATIC POETASTER TO A DITCH-DIGGER by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS IN CALIFORNIA: MORNING, EVENING, LATE JANUARY by DENISE LEVERTOV ABRAHAM by JOHN STUART BLACKIE |
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