Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.
On the eighteenth of April in '75
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town tonight,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,
One if by land, two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore shall be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm.
On the eighteenth of April in '75
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town tonight,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,
One if by land, two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore shall be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm.
Longfellow's Paul Revere's Ride goes on a lot longer. I have a goal to memorize the whole thing before I die. Someone who still knows all the verses to American Pie SHOULD be able to do this, but I memorized that when I still had free brain cells. I've only gotten this far. No sixth grade teacher to make me do it. Sorry Mrs. Libby. I still remember most of "The Children's Hour" though. That HWL was quite a guy. This poem was written April 19, 1860, and first published in 1863 as part of "Tales of a Wayside Inn".
We went to the Wayside Inn in Wayland (shout out to Jill) for a field trip in about 4th grade. We went to the old mill, where they were still grinding cornmeal, I think, at that time. I remember our 5th grade field trip to Boston (a long time before Duck Tours). We went to Old North Church, and Paul Revere's House, as well as most of the rest of the Freedom Trail. But we Boston kids loved the whole Paul Revere thing. I loved that Longfellow said "Through every Middlesex village and farm" because I lived in Middlesex County and I knew he was talking about my 'home'. My cousins lived in Concord, we went to Walden Pond a lot when we were kids, and Lexington was our next door town. I had a cool Minute Man pin. I wonder whatever happened to that...I do still have the pamphlet I bought with my own money at Old North Church on that field trip, with the whole poem on it. I also got some penny candy sticks, and a piece of maple sugar candy to take home to my mom. Stories of Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane, the Louisa May Alcott stories...what a great place to grow up. I found this cool interactive link for Paul Revere's Ride.
Today was Boston Marathon day. My Boston College freshman was heading out with her friends to cheer runners on as they chug up Heartbreak Hill. My sister Mary has run the Boston Marathon, and told Alina how much the cheering students from Wellesley and Boston College help them. My sister Linda is probably working in the medical tent again, she had such a blast doing that last year. Patriot's Day is ONLY celebrated in Massachusetts. I like that too. It's cool to have your very own holiday. I'm thinking B&M baked beans and brown bread tonight. And maybe some clam chowdah.
Even the Red Sox like it. They played an early game today, and swept the Texas Rangers with a good portion of their offense out of commission.
Now I think I'll get to work on the next stanza. Two down, 11 to go:
We went to the Wayside Inn in Wayland (shout out to Jill) for a field trip in about 4th grade. We went to the old mill, where they were still grinding cornmeal, I think, at that time. I remember our 5th grade field trip to Boston (a long time before Duck Tours). We went to Old North Church, and Paul Revere's House, as well as most of the rest of the Freedom Trail. But we Boston kids loved the whole Paul Revere thing. I loved that Longfellow said "Through every Middlesex village and farm" because I lived in Middlesex County and I knew he was talking about my 'home'. My cousins lived in Concord, we went to Walden Pond a lot when we were kids, and Lexington was our next door town. I had a cool Minute Man pin. I wonder whatever happened to that...I do still have the pamphlet I bought with my own money at Old North Church on that field trip, with the whole poem on it. I also got some penny candy sticks, and a piece of maple sugar candy to take home to my mom. Stories of Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane, the Louisa May Alcott stories...what a great place to grow up. I found this cool interactive link for Paul Revere's Ride.
Today was Boston Marathon day. My Boston College freshman was heading out with her friends to cheer runners on as they chug up Heartbreak Hill. My sister Mary has run the Boston Marathon, and told Alina how much the cheering students from Wellesley and Boston College help them. My sister Linda is probably working in the medical tent again, she had such a blast doing that last year. Patriot's Day is ONLY celebrated in Massachusetts. I like that too. It's cool to have your very own holiday. I'm thinking B&M baked beans and brown bread tonight. And maybe some clam chowdah.
Even the Red Sox like it. They played an early game today, and swept the Texas Rangers with a good portion of their offense out of commission.
Now I think I'll get to work on the next stanza. Two down, 11 to go:
Then he said "Good Night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide....
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide....
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