A HOME SONG

by: Henry Van Dyke
Submitted: Friday, January 03, 2003

I read within a poet's book 

A word that starred the page:
"Stone walls do not a prison make, 
Nor iron bars a cage!" 

Yes, that is true; and something more
You'll find, where'er you roam,
That marble floors and gilded walls
Can never make a home. 

But every house where Love abides,
And Friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home-sweet-home:
For there the heart can rest. 

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-home-song/

   I chose “A Home Song” by Henry Van Dyke because I liked the simplicity of it. Many more lines and words could have been used to say the same thing to get the point across but Henry Van Dyke apparently thought less was more. In this poem it works. The central theme explains that a house does not make a home. This theme is shared throughout my poetry anthology.  “Marble floors and gilded walls can never make a home.” These items can create a fine house but a home needs love and friendship. "Stone walls do not a prison make, nor does iron bar a cage!" Just because the components are there does not mean the job is done. It takes more.

   The poet uses the descriptive imagery of stone walls, iron bars, marble floors and gilded walls to paint a fine picture to help the reader see his point of view. Stone walls and iron bars bring cold elements of a prison to our minds but you need more than that. Where are the guards, prisoners, chains and weapons? Likewise, marble floors and gilded walls bring to mind an expensively built house that has spared no expense to create a fine house. I think the marble floors bring to mind a coldness and a hardness. The gilded walls also bring to mind a golden, chilly aloofness that would be fine for a house but not for the warmth of a home.  The images of love abiding, friendship being a guest and the heart resting making a home come together to create warm feeling inside. The tone is a happy endearing one.

   Just like the saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover”, you cannot judge a home by its house. Things are not always as they appear to be. The images of love abiding, friendship being a guest and the heart resting make the vision of a home come together to create warm feeling inside. The tone is a happy endearing one.

THE HOUSE THAT BUILT ME

I know they say, you can't go home again
Well, I just had to come back one last time
And Ma'am, I know, you don't know me from Adam
But these hand prints on the front steps are mine

Up those stairs, in that little back bedroom
Is where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar
And I bet you didn't know under that live oak
My favorite dog is buried in the yard

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it's like I'm someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself

If I could just come in, I swear I'll leave
Won't take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me

Mama cut out pictures of houses for years
From "Better Homes and Garden" magazine
Plans were drawn and concrete poured
And nail by nail and board by board
Daddy gave life to mama's dream

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it's like I'm someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself

If I could just come in, I swear I'll leave
Won't take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me

You leave home, you move on
And you do the best you can
I got lost in this whole world
And forgot who I am

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it's like I'm someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself

If I could walk around, I swear I'll leave
Won't take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me

   I chose “The House That Built Me” by Miranda Lambert because of the way it takes me down memory lane. It is about home and the connections we make to many things as we grow up and live life. The central theme of home is shared by the other works in my poetry anthology also. This one goes a step further by saying “I thought if I could touch this place or feel it this brokenness inside me might start healing”. This says to me that growing up is hard and something going on in her life is very difficult. But times were easier when she lived at home and somewhat simpler. “I thought that maybe I could find myself”, implying that if I came back where I started, I could regroup.  This song speaks to my heart emotionally with the reminders of “hand prints on the front steps” and “my favorite dog is buried in the yard.” A lot of things growing up shape who we are.
   The tone of the poem is sad and the quietness of the music helps to make it very powerful. It creates an emotional impact on the listener. “Daddy gave life to Mama’s dream”, creates an image of love to me. Mama’s dreams came true because of the love between them. The love was shared in the family. “I thought if I could touch this place or feel it”, says to me that it almost has magical qualities. “Out here it's like I'm someone else I thought that maybe I could find myself”, implies I knew who I was then but now I have lost sight of what is important. The personification of the title implies the house built her, but it was in the house she learned who she was.
   This is a wonderful song that reminds us of our childhood and a time when everything seemed simpler.

THE WATCHER

by Margaret Widdemer (1884-1978)


She always leaned to watch for us,
Anxious if we were late,
In winter by the window,


In summer by the gate.

And though we mocked her tenderly,
Who had such foolish care,
The long way home would seem more safe
Because she waited there.

Her thoughts were all so full of us,
She never could forget!
And so I think that where she is
She must be watching yet.



Waiting till we come home to her,
Anxious if we are late,
Watching from Heaven’s window,
Leaning on Heaven’s gate.






   I chose “The Watcher” by Margaret Widdemer because it reminded me of my grandmother. It is about a lady, mother or grandmother is unclear, who watches for her loved ones to come home. The theme is shared by the others in my anthology about home, love and a caring family. The poem speaks to me through the love this lady has for the people she is waiting on and her need to be concerned for their safety.
   The mood of the poem seems a little lonely from the lady’s perspective, the ones she waited on “mocked her tenderly”. This tells me they loved her and really did not mind that she waited on them. “Her thoughts were all so full of us, she never could forget!” She really missed them when they were gone. Then the lady has died and they believe she must still be watching from “heaven’s window and leaning on heaven’s gate”. The repetitive use of window and gate are symbols that bring to mind images of where people watch others come and go. Winter and summer she watched and waited for them to come home. It implies that she was so diligent and never would forget. Now that she is in heaven she has still not given up her watch. She will be waiting until they die and come to be with her in heaven. Her ever watching and ever waiting show the never ending love she has for them. Even though they gently mocked her they felt safe because they knew she would be there.
   This poem brings to mind the warmth that home and family bring to my heart. The use of summer and winter show that love endures through the seasons and the use of heaven shows that endures over time and after death.

 Homeward Bound 

I'm sitting in the railway station.
Got a ticket for my destination.
On a tour of one-night stands my suitcase and guitar in hand.
And every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-man band.

[Chorus]
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.

Every day's an endless stream

Of cigarettes and magazines.
And each town looks the same to me, 
The movies and the factories
And every stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be,

[Chorus]


Tonight I'll sing my songs again,

I'll play the game and pretend.
But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me.

[Chorus]

Silently for me.


http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/paul+simon/homeward+bound_20105974.html.

   I picked the song “Homeward Bound” written by Jerry Landis but performed by Simon and Garfunkel. I chose this song because it has always been a favorite for me and because it fits my anthology theme. It is about missing home. This person has to travel for work but it is taking him away from his love of home and all that entails. The words the poet uses tells the reader how he feels about his job. Or at least how he feels about it compared to his wonderful “HOME”. “One-night stands”, “endless stream”, “I’ll play the game and pretend” and “shades of mediocrity”. He is not happy away from home.

   The tone is sad and a little depressing. The music is soft and works well to help create the mood. The repetition of the word home also works well to provide emphasis on how much he misses it. “Home where my thought's escaping, home where my music's playing, home where my love lies waiting silently for me.”   The title Homeward Bound is a little ironic because this man is on tour for his job, a singer, and not on his way home. “Got a ticket for my destination on a tour of one-night stands my suitcase and guitar in hand.” But it also implies that even though he is working, home is so important to him that getting back there is fore front in his mind.

I think he sums his thoughts up well when he says, “Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me”. Home is where his comfort is and where his “Love is waiting silently for him”. She is waiting silently which tells me that she doesn’t complain when he goes out of town for work. Maybe they need the money but he would much rather be home.

Madness-Our House

OUR HOUSE

by MADNESS

Father wears his Sunday best
Mother's tired she needs a rest
The kids are playing up downstairs
Sister's sighing in her sleep
Brother's got a date to keep
He can't hang around

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our

Our house it has a crowd
There's always something happening
And it's usually quite loud
Our mum she's so house-proud
Nothing ever slows her down
And a mess is not allowed

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our

Our house, in the middle of our street
(Something tells you)
(That you've got to get away from it)
Our house, in the middle of our

Father gets up late for work
Mother has to iron his shirt

Then she sends the kids to school
Sees them off with a small kiss
She's the one they're going to miss
In lots of ways

[Instrumental Interlude]

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our

I remember way back then when
Everything was true and when
We would have such a very good time
Such a fine time
Such a happy time
And I remember how we'd play
Simply waste the day away
Then we'd say
Nothing would come between us
Two dreamers

Father wears his Sunday best
Mother's tired she needs a rest
The kids are playing up downstairs
Sister's sighing in her sleep
Brother's got a date to keep
He can't hang around

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our
Our house, was our castle and our keep
Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, that was where we used to sleep
Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our street

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/madness/ourhouse.html

I chose Our House by Madness because, even though it is crazy, it depicts the idea of home maybe more than the other poems and songs. This one is very realistic. It is about a house full of children running wild, older sister resting, big brother going out for a date, mom needs rest but has to clean and iron. It is a loud household. It shows real life happening in real time. It also hints that everyone will miss mom one day as if she held everything together in the chaos. This were good back then but they were naïve to think they would stay that way. “Two dreamers”, “we’d play and waste the day away”.

What makes this poem work is the upbeat loud and crazy music that work with the lyrics. Emotionally it makes me happy and has a very catchy tune. The use of repetition in “Our house, in the middle of our street, our house, in the middle of our street our house, in the middle of our street,” seems to indicate that they are neither upper class nor lower class but either way they don’t care. They are happy. The images of the kids playing “up downstairs” puts to mind a wild, lively group. The use of rhythm and rhyme work well here. “Crowd, loud, house-proud, not allowed” are fun playful words as well.

This depicts most households that I’ve been privileged enough to know. They were full of love as much as the calm and quiet ones. I think the meaning of the title indicates that even though this is not the “perfect” house in some peoples terms, for them it was. 

THE JOYS OF HOME

THE JOYS OF HOME

by: Edgar A. Guest (1919)

Curling smoke from a chimney low,

And only a few more steps to go,

Faces pressed at a window pane 

Watching for someone to come again,

And I am the someone they wait to see--

These are the joys life gives to me.

What has my neighbor excelling this:

A good wife's love and a baby's kiss?

What if his chimneys tower higher?

Peace is found at our humble fire.

What if his silver and gold are more?

Rest is ours when the day is o'er.

Strive for fortune and slave for fame,

You find that joy always stays the same:

Rich man and poor man dream and pray

For a home where laughter shall ever stay,

And the wheels go round and men spend their might

For the few glad hours they may claim at night.

Home, where the kettle shall gaily sing,

Is all that matters with serf or king;

Gold and silver and laurelled fame

Are only sweet when the hearth's aflame

With a cheerful fire, and the loved ones there

Are unafraid of the wolves of care.

So let me come home at night to rest

With those who know I have done my best;

Let the wife rejoice and my children smile,

And I'll know by their love that I am worthwhile,

For this is conquest and world success--

A home where abideth happiness.

I chose “The Joys of Home” by Edgar A Guest because I love the words and the implications. It implies that there are people with more money and bigger houses than he has but love, peace and rest in his home is better than all of that. The poem shares the central theme of all of my poems in the anthology about how wonderful and satisfying home is. This poem says to me that if don’t have love in your life and a place to call home then all of the riches in the world cannot make you happy.

The rhythm and rhyme in this poem really make it work. The images of “the neighbor’s chimney tower being higher” and “silver and gold” paint a picture of riches next door,  whereas the image of his “humble fire” create a more down to earth image he has at home. “There are faces pressed against the window pane and I am the one they wait to see”, shows he is the “king of his castle”. “So let me come home at night to rest with those who know I have done my best”, tells me that even though he doesn’t have the greatest fame and fortune he is rich in love and family.

“Rich man and poor man dream and pray
For a home where laughter shall ever stay”

As you can see this man and his family are very rich indeed. No need to work all of the time striving for more and more and bigger and better things. Having a happy home with a loving family is all you will ever need. Money, riches, fame and fortune cannot buy happiness.

http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/52333/