Where Go the Boats?
Dark brown is the river,
Golden is the sand.
It flows along for ever,
With trees on either hand.
Green leaves a-floating,
Castles of the foam,
Boats of mine a-boating--
Where will all come home?
On goes the river
And out past the mill,
Away down the valley,
Away down the hill.
Away down the river,
A hundred miles or more,
Other little children
Shall bring my boats ashore.
Commentary
(A Child’s Garden of Verses, XIV)
Few poets can capture the spirit of childhood in quite the way Stevenson can. The world a child inhabits is in several dimensions bigger, richer and altogether more magical than the ‘real’ one, and Stevenson’s poems bring out that difference admirably, blending the real world seamlessly with that of the imagination, and tossing in details like ‘it flows along forever’ and ‘castles of the foam’ for the child’s eye view.
As always, note the wonderful imagery, the feel of vast distances and enchanted journeys, the gently rippling rhythm, and the typically Stevensonian ending (the ‘other little children’ in far away places is a recurrent theme in ‘A Child’s Garden of Verses’).
Links
Biography: poem #20
Other Stevenson poems on Minstrels:
Poem #20, ‘Requiem’
Poem #84, ‘From a Railway Carriage’
Poem #290, ‘Bed in Summer’
Poem #450, ‘Auntie’s Skirts’
Poem #780, ‘The Vagabond’
— Martin
Show 8 commentsHide comments
From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.
RobKayKrohne · 28 March 2003
First poem I ever memorized. I believe I was 7 or 8 years old. I am now 79. I was so happy to find it on the Internet, as I could only remember the first verse.
Thank you.
Kathryn Krohne
Gerald Warren · 18 September 2003
My grandmother would read to me “A Child’s Garden Of Verses” over and over and over again. This was one of my favorites. As a child who played alone, I think I was saddened by the fact that children of my ilk, i.e. “other little children,” should live and play so far away. :-)!
glwarren
Tuttler · 20 October 2003
Thanks for having this online! My 82-year old father (still hard working, and culture never quite “took” to him!) quoted this poem while we were sitting at the dinner table after church last Sunday. You should have seen our faces! We were discussing the struggle memorizing Scripture and he just blurted this poem out! Said it was the only thing he memorized as a young child and he has never forgotten it!
Sandi Tuttle
MAK · 4 October 2004
This is the only poem I have ever memorized and retained. It just seems to settle in a good spot with me. Judging from the other comments, it has touched the hearts of many others too. Looks like it’s a good candidate for being called a work of genius!
By the way; my wife and I have found that this poem lends itself well to being adapted to lullaby singing. We use the tune of Down in the Valley. Try it, it’s been a favorite of our children for over a decade now!
-Mark, Salamanca, NY
Tucker St.John · 16 June 2005
Dark brown is the river… I learned that song in the 5th or 6th grade, but only remembered the first verse. (Didn’t know it was a poem by RLS.) Here I am going on 70 years old, and I must be in my dotage because that song has been going through my mind for days. Since virtually everything seems to be on the web - I decided to look. So glad to have found it. I take it the little things with the circles are for the ocarina? It looks fun. Where does one get an ocarina? Is it hard to play? Thanks for having the poem out there…
Sincerely, Mrs. T. St.John
ShantiaWG · 15 September 2005
I was looking for this poem to remember all of the verses so that I could sing it to an “adopted Granson.” It already has a lovely lulaby-ish tune I learned it that way as child.
Thanks! Shantia
Olliedalaba · 31 December 2005
WHERE GO THE BOATS……Stevenson
I remembered the first verse from early childhood. I was so pleased to find it. I am using it in a sermon for New Year’s day, tomorrow. I’ll be 72 on Jan. 25,06. Thanks. Ollie Dalaba
Janice Chung · 15 January 2006
I had to memorize this poem in public school in Honolulu, Hawaii. I often recite the first verse, when standing at a rain-swollen or muddy river to whatever group I am with - family or walking club or Sierra Club. I could never remember anything more than that first verse, nor who was the author, nor the title, before this!
Janice C.