The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.
He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, and a bunch of lace at his chin;
He'd a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of fine doe-skin.
They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to his thigh!
And he rode with a jeweled twinkle—
His rapier hilt a-twinkle—
His pistol butts a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred,
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter—
Bess, the landlord's daughter—
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
Dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim, the ostler listened—his face was white and peaked—
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter—
The landlord's black-eyed daughter;
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say:
"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart; I'm after a prize tonight,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light.
Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."
He stood upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair in the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the sweet black waves of perfume came tumbling o'er his breast,
Then he kissed its waves in the moonlight
O sweet black waves in the moonlight!,
And he tugged at his reins in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west.
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon.
And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon over the purple moor,
The redcoat troops came marching—
Marching—marching—
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.
They said no word to the landlord; they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed.
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets by their side;
There was Death at every window,
And Hell at one dark window,
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.
They had bound her up at attention, with many a sniggering jest!
They had tied a rifle beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her. She heard the dead man say,
"Look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way."
She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!
The tip of one finger touched it, she strove no more for the rest;
Up, she stood up at attention, with the barrel beneath her breast.
She would not risk their hearing, she would not strive again,
For the road lay bare in the moonlight,
Blank and bare in the moonlight,
And the blood in her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love's refrain.
Tlot tlot, tlot tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hooves, ringing clear;
Tlot tlot, tlot tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
The redcoats looked to their priming! She stood up straight and still.
Tlot tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight—
Her musket shattered the moonlight—
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him—with her death.
He turned, he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the casement, drenched in her own red blood!
Not till the dawn did he hear it, and his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.
Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs in the golden noon, wine-red was his velvet coat
When they shot him down in the highway,
Down like a dog in the highway,
And he lay in his blood in the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.
And still on a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a gypsy's ribbon looping the purple moor,
The highwayman comes riding—
Riding—riding—
The highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,
He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred,
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter—
Bess, the landlord's daughter—
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
Leave a guest comment (subject to review)
Comments
1 - 37 of 37
-
-
Guard Your Heart!
From guest SC (contact)
I fell in love with this poem when I was about 13.
I grew up and married a *former* highwayman when I was 35.
He changed his ways and I love him for his beautiful heart.
My Husband truly cherishes me, but Mommas, don't let yer daughters meditate on poems like this one!
And Teachers, don't glorify or romanticize poems like this one!
btw, my Momma was an English teacher who provided me with the literature book that contained this poem! -
-
-
-
my god this is one such amazing piece of poetry,first time i read it,i was zapped!an' then i was so taken over by it,i had to come back and read it!
-
From guest lois (contact)
I listened to it at school and loved it so I wanted to find out moor about it. -
Reciting Poetry
From guest Phyllis C. Martin (contact)
A few years ago as a grade 4 teacher in La Scie NL, I committed this poem to memory to share with my class, to illustrate the beauty and power of memorizing poetry. It took me two weeks to learn it (over Easter vacation). This inspired them to take on the challenge, to have weekly poetry presentations to clue up the school year. Great experience. Thank you Alfred Noyes for such a beautiful poem. -
author
From guest Ronald Hanson (contact)
65 years I believed that this poem was Tennyson classic, but just now discovered it was by Alfred Noyes instead. Surprise Surprise -
Wowza
From guest Jelly Bean (contact)
this poem is really good. we are learning about this in english and i am rally enjoying this. -
Love Story
From guest Tori (contact)
i read this Poem at school it is really sad
but other then that i really like it i could read it every day. 
-
Really Cool
From guest Tori (contact)
i read this poem at school. i think it is really cool, and abit sad towards the end -
highwayman
From guest Pat C. (contact)
I read and studied this poem at school 60 years ago and it has stuck with me ever since,although over the years I had forgotten most of it.I am so happy to find it again. -
nice sort of
From guest daniella (contact)
i like the way the poet has reated the first virse and i like the way bess worned her beloved that prince goerges men were there over all like the hole poem its very enspirering to any young poet in form and ma boyfriend had to hold me when we read this in school because i started to cry coz it was so nice of bess to kill her self to try and spar the like of her beloved. -
Very good peom
From guest Rufeida (contact)
Hello my name is Rufeida
i'msaying tha this peom is really good for children read -
this poem
From guest corbin matheny (contact)
we read this poem in school and it was a very good poem my girl friend stsrted to cry it was so good. -
im in 7th grade and this poem is the best! it is in my literature book and we had to read it. It was AWESOME!
-
-
poems are music
From guest sam (contact)
it me again saying that if you can't get some one out of your heart, then maybe they're supposed to be there!!
:l :'( this poem is so sad...
-
love is in the air
From guest sam (contact)
i am only 12 years old and i love poetry and writing it is so inspirational and fascinating to me. i love to write and i love this poem
-
READ THIS...
From guest Ellie Butcher (contact)
I love love love this poem its great i studied this poem at school and when the said that we was moveing on to something else evryone said AHH
-
From guest shannon kane (contact)
Should have images on the poem so that peopel cauld give a clear image in their minds.
MOD MESSAGE
With such wonderful pen-pictures it is hard to see how an image could imtove things other than by showing a stereo-typical highwayman. -
So much has already been said about this piece...it was a set piece for my daughter to review in her English class and that still holds terror for me ..... but most definitely a worthy piece for students to review.
-
literature
From guest azucena (contact)
some is wrong
MOD MESSAGE
Please be helpful and say just what you think is wrong so that it can be corrected if necessary. -
Even if he had written nothing else this poem would have ensured Noyes a position in the pantheon of Great Poets.
However he has written a lot more and though this is still (in my opinion) his best, the rest deserve a reading too.
He is a born storyteller and uses the poetic medium to its full extent. -
I love the poam
From guest Katie (contact)
its so cool its great before i read it i saw word and pictures of wat the man had in his bag and things he had -
I first heard the Loreena Mckennit renderation...
I was about 7 or 8 at the time. Since then, I've grown up with the song, hearing it at random intervals, slowly gaining more understanding of the words being said.
I refuse point blank to analyse it. Our teacher asked us to present our favourite poems to the class for discussion, and I refused. I don't wish to find smilies, metaphors, and sibilance and structure in it. No doubt there is, but I don't believe that by identifying where these techniques are in the poem, that anyone can reproduce it, or something of similar quality. I have no wish to explain HOW Noyes' rhythmic structure CAUSED the effect. All I know is that it did, and I loved it. I was lost in the sea, and wished not to be found.
Noyes has created a lovely narration, that will touch many when they read it. It will serve no purpose when you break it down, as you will have proved by that very action that you are a being incapable of naturally scripting a piece of this quality.
Any comments on the omission of two verses in the L. Mckennit song? I think it tightened the pacing of the song, ad that although I don't always appreciate alteration from the original, she has created a new effect and feel for the poem. The should be regarded separately, and appreciated separately. The emotions felt are different when you read the poem and hear the song. However, that is only my experience.
Share yours.
Regards
Sameh -
Great Poem
From guest LadyCanada (contact)
This poem was instilled in me at a young age, when the school librarian read the illustrated version to my class (I must've been in grade 4 or 5 at the most. The rather graphic images of a bloody Bess stayed with me and kept the poem in my memory until I decided to hunt down that poem again and used for a recitation activity for my speaking and presentation skills class. I still love to this day, and am a fan of McKennit's song version also. -
-
poem
From guest leah (contact)
i read it at school last week and i thought it was fab so i looked it up on the internet and i found it
-
Part 3
From guest Sony Mckoy (contact)
I think there should be part 3 to it!!!
It's a great love story!!!!
Does anyone want to create a part 3 that is still in the rhyming pattern?If you read the poem carefully you'll see that most of the words rhyme...My homework from school is to create part three..anyone wanna help me and create it and then post it here???Please!!!
I wish you luck with your ‘part 3’ to this poem but it cannot be posted here I’m sorry.
This poem is here in its entirety as written by Alfred Noyes – no changes will be, or can be made to his original work. It would be for your own entertainment only. – Von ~ Oldpoetry Team
-
sweetness....
From guest random dude (my name is Allen)
i like dis poem alright, its like very romantic and stuff, also like Bess kills herself bcuz of luv thts like outrageous and stuff
-
-
-
Timeless Poem
From guest Linda Fulton (contact)
I read this poem in school, over 40 years ago. It is classic and timeless. One that really stays with you. I'm glad to see your comments and know that it is still taught in school. The poem captures so much in its telling... so many emotions and images. It will stay with people for years. Glad to see it and read it again. -
Childhood Favorite
From guest Jennifer (contact)
My father used to read poetry on Christmas Eve and this poem was always my request. I had to try to find it this year. My kids are too young (3 & 7) to hear it this year, but reading it floods me with memories and reminds me of how much I love it. So glad that so many others do to, and at young ages. -
i've read this
From guest iqra (contact)
i absolutley like ths poem iread it in englis and this would be my fav poem -
-
-
Highwayman Reply
Tommy-
Several folks in the UK have adapted this poem for singing. Try a goggle search for ("Highwayman" song). Or ask that question on this folk music website: http://www.mudcat.org/threads.cfm
Charley Noble
-
-
the highwayman!!
From guest sam (contact)
Thank you so much!! if i couldnt have found this.. i would have made a F on my test on it tomorrow well, today at school we where suppost to read it and i passed notes instead of reading it.Then after the teacher thought everyone was done reading it she said,"You have a test on this peom tomorrow." Soo, im in 7th grade and yeaaa thanks!! -
KEWL!
From guest C.A.F (contact)
i sooooo needed this for a poem-reading at skewl... it is so AWESOME!!! <3 -
the Highwayman
From guest Emma Stevens (contact)
Wow. Bess is really stupid. Giving up her life for someone that she knows for what? A day. Well I guess it makes a good story -
the poem
From guest kerry (contact)
thank you for putting this poem on this site i would have been stuck with out it .i needed it for my homework at school! thanks! -
-
Interesting
From guest janine (contact)
I like this poem, but it is kind of scary and romantic at the same time. We have been talking about this poem in my 10th grade english class and it got everybody really interested on our assignment. -
-
Boynton Beach High
From guest Juan Cruz Prats (contact)
I'm a senior and in my English 4 class our teacher read it to us, and I really loved it. I love the imagery and the use of the nice rhyme repeated a few times. This is one of my new fav poems. -
From guest Catherine (contact)
A very old favorite. The musical version recorded by Phil Ochs is the best I've ever heard. Vastly superior to Loreena Mckennitt's. -
omg
From guest hape te rahui (contact)
hey that poem is so cool i mean it is my all time favorite i love it so hey yea my name is hape and i live in christchurch in new zealand and i need some history on how alfred noyes write this poem thanx and i hope to hear some more soon :):) -
Hello
From guest Sally (contact)
I love this poem and at the moment i have a project to do with Highywaymen. -
Still wonderful
I shall always return to this my favourite poem, over and over again,,,as good today as the first time I read it 40 odd years ago....mal -
From guest Manda (contact)
The first time I heard this poem was on the Loreena McKennitt CD that we randomly have. I'd been listening to a couple of songs that I'd downloaded and I loved her stuff. When I heard this, I kept playing it over and over and I wanted to know what it came from. When I found this poem, I was extremely excited and I have it stuck in my head constantly. I want to read anything about it that I can. (There are some books based on the poem and I really want to read them and try to write one of my own.) -
Marvilloso!!
From guest Jose Mondaca (contact)
Or "wonderful!!" in good english. The first time I read an excerpt of this beautiful poem was in Frank McCourt's novel "Angela's Ashes" and it was love at first read, I couldn't help searching in the net to find the entire text, until I did and then I learned about Loreena McKennitt who is an outstanding musician, who compose music for this poem, well, I love profoundly both, the poem and it's music. Oh, I didn't mention this before, I'm from Bolivia and I'm 42, then I could add to Georgia's comment about the suitability of this poem for all ages (absoluty true) that it's also suitable for people all over the world. Thank you. -
doing this at school!
From guest georgia (contact)
hello everyone... at school at the moment we have been learning about the highwayman poem...i am 10yrs old and have really taken a shine to it... it think this poem is suitable for all ages...so today when i came home from school i thought i would like to read it agin and print a copy out... this is how much i love it! -
The Highwayman
From guest Sandy (contact)
When I was in high school I entered a speaking contest and memorized this wonderful poem. My English teacher thought I had a good chance to win. However, a young man said the same poem in a monotone voice and won. We were amazed that the judge did not understand that this wonderful poem was written with such powerful description and feeling. It's one of my very favorites. I shall endeavor to once again memorize it for my own delight and pleasure. Sandy -
HighwayMan
From guest Elliot (contact)
Heyy, for my enlsh poem i have to write the end of the highwayman peom and im really stuck,we haveto do another ending like we can have bess living and he highwayman living, it starts from"Tlot-Tlo.... ect" pleasecan you help ? thankies u -
exelent wow wow wow
From guest daria (contact)
I am thing that is exelent old poetry . the highwaymen can riding to the old door. -
i'm new
i'm new and i think this poem is the best ever -
i love this poem
From guest leah (contact)
this poem is great we read it at school with my class and i personly think its great. -
Wow.....
From guest Jade (contact)
The first time I heard this poem was today. I can't believe I didn't find this earlier. Its just...perfect. I cant believe how well put together this is. Im in H.S and I think I may use this poem to recite on my forensics team. Listening to Loreena Mckennitt sing this helped alot for me to understand how the poem fit together, too. This poem is just great! I love it -
Trying to remember
From guest Lydia L. Jimeno (contact)
I have recited this poem in a competition when I was in highschool in the Philippines. This was in 1958. I was then 15 years old. I probably could have gotten the gold medal for reciting this has I been older and really be able to put the words in my heart and not just recite it without the passion it really evokes. I still remember the title and the first four lines. -
I have been looking for this poem for many years now. I first read it during my schooldays, but I did not know who the author was. I found it by chance on Old Poetry. It has such a lilting rhythm and represents such a lovely story written in verse. An excellent poem, I can imagine every line of the poem. Ir reminds me of the Yorkshire Moors, which are so very beautiful. The poem is BRILLIANT, I just LOVE it.
-
love it
From guest sammy (contact)
im in 7th grade and we read this in class, i loved it and it fery sad -
memorable
I first read this poem while in H.S. in the early 70's. It had passed from my memory until my wife and I were talking about favorite writers and poems. I could not remember the author or even the name, but new it mentioned a horse and had a structure that made one feel as if galloping. Also, it reminded me of The Raven in rhyme scheme. I am so glad I have found it once again, and see it in a different light. Now, I see the misguided love, the loss of hope, for someone most of society would not care to know, or care for.
mitch, JC,NJ -
Great as Lyrics
If you want a real treat, Lorenna McKennitt put it to Celtic-like music when she was reaching her peak as an artist... enchanting! I've been listening to the sampler for a half hour now (can't find it on the Internet, lol) So this poem may be better listening to it over reading it, is what I am saying... -
Brilliant
So easy to follow for child and adult alike.Favourite parts all of it. But 1 to 6 always had the edge for me.It entrapped me as a child and that feeling remains today. Absolutely superb. -
Moved by the overwhelmingly positive reaction of most readers to this poem, I read it again looking for everything good and commendable that I could find in it. Surely, it is a gripping narrative, and would be so in prose or poetry. Noyes does not dwell too much on the melodrama as minor poets might when treating such a theme. His poetic tecnique is in many respects admirable. And yet... There is something missing. Its many felicities obscure its shortcomings and almost excuse them. Still, the mawkish sentimentality and pitched emotion, clearly intended to grab the reader's attention, is perhaps overexploited. We see where he is going and he's definitely getting there; we only wish that he had as much confidence in his readers' ability to follow him without the overt cues.
-
Perfection !
-
i have been in love with this poem since 8th grade when we read it in class......and since then i have been looking for it, but never knew where to find it! i used to have a loreena mckennitt cd with her singing this poem on it....but i lost it....
He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, and a bunch of lace at his chin;
He'd a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of fine doe-skin.
They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to his thigh!
And he rode with a jeweled twinkle--
His rapier hilt a-twinkle--
His pistol butts a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.
this is my favorite stanza......i love the description.....!
*bj* -
This is my favorite poem! I love it! I'm in love with it, I love this poem! It's so descriptive and you can feel the emotion and everything! I just love it!
Holly
-
I absolutely love this poem, even today I still love this poem
-
i first was inroduced by this poem in one of my classes and ever since i have been in love with this old poem.it is difinitly my favorite poem of all time!
-
This is my favorate poem of all times. I could read it over and over again. The words flow so softy and smoothly. And the big aha at the end is fantastic to.
This poem sends me a thousand comments, lovly backround by the way-
This poem gave me the inspiration to start writing at allpoetry. and it still inspires me today.
Such an exelent piece and i love reading it-
Thank you. I will always read this poem and be inspired. -
Ah, my favorite poem of all time. Lovely background.
-
Believe it or not, this is one of the first poems I remember as a child. My mother read it to me like a bedtime story and by age 5 I was reciting it. This poem along with Figs from Thistles by Edna St Vincent Millay were my inspiration to start writing poetry at an early age.
-
I adore this piece...I had read it when I was in high school and was reminded of it again with Lorena's version of it in college. And there are many nights when I have a glass of wine by my hand, several candles glinting nearby, and this cd in the player...and everytime, those ole goosepimples just a'come a'poppin' on my skin...lol. Gorgeous can only begin to describe this haunting masterpiece...
-
i love this poem so much! it has been my favorite for 3 years, ever since we covered it in language class, Annabell Lee is also very good.
-
Ya i agree this is a good poem!
-
hey, interestingly enough, the highwayman and the lady of shalott are my favourite (haha, british spelling!) poems too! read Annabelle Lee by Poe, it's similar in its bittersweet wonderfulness!
-
YO YO YO SUP THKIS OPEM WAS AUSOME YEYA IT HAD SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TOO LOOK AT THIS POEM AND SO MNAY ATLITTERY DIVICES YYEYEYEYEY
-
i loved this peom. i remeber reading it but i could never remember the name and it bothered me for years, then i heard it on anne of green gables and got a copy right away.
-
I was actually directed here from another site where I read this poem for the very first time - why it has taken me so very long to get here I just don't know. However I can now see why people have become excited about this poem and why it is listed on so many favourite lists. It's exciting and the theme I feel has been the basis for many an old movie. Noyes was born in a town where, prior to his generation there were Highwaymen roaming the dark streets and country roads. In fact there was an old, well-used Coaching route going into central Wolverhampton for the major part of the 18th century. he brought all this to rollicking life in his famous poem. OK Alfred Noyes - I'm hooked.
Vonnie~~
Edited on Sep 04, 5:52 because ''. -
One of the poems that introduced me to poetry, ignited my love of it. The other poem was Alfred Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" I have it memorized...
-
I love this poem! it is written in such an awesome way. I love the way the rhythm just picks you up and carries you along with it as you read, and the wording creates a legend sounding type story, the kind you'd sit around the campfire and listen to. Or one that you'd listen to on a cold winter night, while you're drinking hot chocolate around the fire. That's the kind of mood it generates when I read it. I never get tired of reading it.
-
This is my favorite poem... it is what introduced me into the beauty that is poetry... I have always loved it... and I always will!
-
This has also been a long time favorite poem of mine. The version Lorena McKennit sings is awesome as well. I have the whole thing memorized, just for sheer fun. (I piss off my friends by quoting it when they're trying to be serious)
-
Wow....This is one of my favorite poems Ever...And Lorenna MCkennit sings it so beautifuly...I am not exadurating in the least when I say I have the song burned on 5 different Cds.
-
I first heard this when Lorenna Mckennit sang it, and I absolutely adored it. Later found out that it was based on an actual poem. I finally remembered to come look for it on here, and found it! I love this poem so much. It shends shivers up my spine too. Every time.
-
this is my FAVOURITE poem, always has been. It always sends shivers up my spine
-
i think i'm going to go memorize this, AC; I'm weird like that too.
-
WOW!!!Absoloutley Magnificent!!!!!!!!
-
this is my alltime favorite poem, i memorized it a few years ago just for my sheer pleasure. but then again im weird like that
-
an absolute must read
-
This has been along time favourite of mine and I am so thrilled to discover it here, It is so full of imagery, and sound,
"The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor,"
"Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred,
He whistled a tune to the window,"
and the story it narrates full of love and sacrifice and the end where the love of the highwayman and Bess the landlords daughter still continues, this poem always touches me and it is great to read aloud, a beautiful piece altogether.
-
Absolutely Magnificent
Adding your comment:
1 - 37 of 37
