Living

Sings a "Winky-Tooden" Song

by James Whitcomb Riley 1849–1916

From The Book of Joyous Children (1902)

Living

O here's a little rhyme for the Spring- or Summer-time--
An a-ho-winky-tooden-an-a-ho!--
Just a little bit o' tune you can twitter, May or June,
An a-ho-winky-tooden-an-a-ho!
It's a song that soars and sings,
As the birds that twang their wings
Or the katydids and things
Thus and so, don't you know,
An a-ho-winky-tooden-an-a-ho!

It's a song just broken loose, with no reason or excuse--
An a-ho-winky-tooden-an-a-ho!
You can sing along with it--or it matters not a bit--
An a-ho-winky-tooden-an-a-ho!
It's a lovely little thing
That 'most any one could sing
With a ringle-dingle-ding,
Soft and low, don't you know,
An a-ho-winky-tooden-an-a-ho!

MLA

Riley, James Whitcomb. “Sings a "Winky-Tooden" Song.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/riley/340/.

Chicago

Riley, James Whitcomb. “Sings a "Winky-Tooden" Song.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/riley/340/.

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