
By Will Carleton
PREFACE.
FARM BALLADS.
BETSEY AND I ARE OUT.
HOW BETSY AND I MADE UP
GONE WITH A HANDSOMER MAN.
JOHNNY RICH.
OUT OF THE OLD HOUSE, NANCY.
OVER THE HILL TO THE POOR-HOUSE.
OVER THE HILL FROM THE POOR-HOUSE.
A modest yet lively anthology gathers verses that sprang from fields, train cars, and the quiet corners of a scholar’s study. The poet’s hand is unpretentious, letting the rhythm of everyday toil and the occasional burst of humor shape each stanza. Readers will hear the honest cadence of work songs, the soft sighs of longing, and the occasional grin that comes from life’s simple absurdities.
Scattered throughout are familiar faces—Betsey, the spirited companion on a wandering road; Johnny Rich, whose name hints at both hope and irony; and the wistful narrator who drifts between the grind of the farm and the pull of distant dreams. The poems capture moments of love, loss, and community with a tone that feels both personal and universally rural, inviting listeners to step into a world where the hum of a plow and the rustle of autumn leaves become verses of their own.
Language
en
Duration
~1 hours (84K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by David Widger
Release date
2004-06-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1845–1912
Best remembered for poems that brought everyday farm life into American popular culture, this Michigan writer turned plainspoken stories of work, family, and hardship into verse that wide audiences could instantly recognize. His best-known poem, "Over the Hill to the Poorhouse," helped make him one of the most widely read rural poets of his time.
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