Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SONG OF SARATOGA by JOHN GODFREY SAXE

First Line: PRAY, WHAT DO THEY DO AT THE SPRINGS?
Last Line: AND THAT'S WHAT THEY DO AT THE SPRINGS!
Subject(s): HEALTH RESORTS; SARATOGA, NEW YORK; SPAS;
"PRAY, what do they do at the Springs?"
The question is easy to ask;
But to answer it fully, my dear,
Were rather a serious task.
And yet, in a bantering way,
As the magpie or mocking-bird sings,
I'll venture a bit of a song
To tell what they do at the Springs!

Imprimis, my darling, they drink
The waters so sparkling and clear;
Though the flavor is none of the best,
And the odor exceedingly queer;
But the fluid is mingled, you know,
With wholesome medicinal things,
So they drink, and they drink, and they drink, --
And that's what they do at the Springs!

Then with appetites keen as a knife,
They hasten to breakfast or dine
(The latter precisely at three,
The former from seven till nine).
Ye gods! what a rustle and rush
When the eloquent dinner-bell rings!
Then they eat, and they eat, and they eat, --
And that's what they do at the Springs!

Now they stroll in the beautiful walks,
Or loll in the shade of the trees;
Where many a whisper is heard
That never is told by the breeze;
And hands are commingled with hands,
Regardless of conjugal rings;
And they flirt, and they flirt, and they flirt, --
And that's what they do at the Springs!

The drawing-rooms now are ablaze,
And music is shrieking away;
Terpsichore governs the hour,
And Fashion was never so gay!
An arm round a tapering waist,
How closely and fondly it clings!
So they waltz, and they waltz, and they waltz, --
And that's what they do at the Springs!

In short -- as it goes in the world --
They eat, and they drink, and they sleep;
They talk, and they walk, and they woo;
They sigh, and they laugh, and they weep;
They read, and they ride, and they dance
(With other unspeakable things);
They pray, and they play, and they pay, --
And that's what they do at the Springs!



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