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Iry And Billy And Jo.

By James Whitcomb Riley

Topics: classic

Iry an' Billy an' Jo! -                 Iry an' Billy's the boys,         An' Jo's their dog, you know, -         Their pictures took all in a row.                 Bet they kin kick up a noise -                 Iry and Billy, the boys,         And that-air little dog Jo!         Iry's the one 'at stands                 Up there a-lookin' so mild         An' meek - with his hat in his hands,                 Like such a 'bediant child -         (Sakes-alive!) - An' Billy he sets         In the cheer an' holds onto Jo an' sweats         Hisse'f, a-lookin' so good!    Ho-ho!                 Iry an' Billy an' Jo!         Yit the way them boys, you know,                 Usen to jes turn in         An' fight over that dog Jo                 Wuz a burnin'-shame-an'-a-sin ! -         Iry he'd argy 'at, by gee-whizz!         That-air little Jo-dog wuz his! -         An' Billy he'd claim it wuzn't so -         'Cause the dog wuz his'n! - An' at it they'd go,         Nip-an'-tugg, tooth-an'-toenail, you know -                 Iry an' Billy an' Jo!         But their Pa - (He wuz the marshal then)             He 'tended-like 'at he jerked 'em up;         An' got a jury o' Brickyard men             An' helt a trial about the pup:         An' he says he jes like to a-died         When the rest o' us town-boys testified -                 Regardin', you know,                 Iry an' Billy an' Jo. -         'Cause we all knowed, when the Gypsies they             Camped down here by the crick last Fall,         They brung Jo with 'em, an' give him away             To Iry an' Billy fer nothin' at all! -         So the jury fetched in the verdick so                 Jo he ain't neether o' theirn fer shore -                 He's both their dog, an' jes no more!                 An' so                 They've quit quarrelin' long ago,                 Iry an' Billy an' Jo.

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"Iry an' Billy an' Jo! - ..."

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Author:James Whitcomb Riley

"Iry an' Billy an' Jo! - ..." by James Whitcomb Riley

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James Whitcomb Riley

About James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley (1849–1916) was an American poet known as the "Hoosier Poet." His dialect poems—including "Little Orphant Annie" and "When the Frost Is on the Punkin"—celebrate rural Indiana life and childhood nostalgia.

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