Thursday, April 2, 2026

A to Z 2026: BEER! ("Beer bring I to thee..." and "Back and Side go Bare")

 B is for Beer!

Bonus: 

Beer, beer, and MORE BEER!

Summary: Poets like beer.

Commentary: So, one of the idiosyncrasies of  doing A to Z out of the index is that I'm seeing a lot of repeats. Today I had a lot of "bless" and "bonnie" poems to pick from. Beer isn't the kind of thing I normally think of when I think of poetry, and because it kind of surprised me I'm going to do two poems today (already breaking my rules on day 2).

"Beer bring I to thee..." is a long song? from the middle of one of the sagas. I haven't read much of them, but it feels similar to the Greek epics. It's got some kennings like Beowulf (Learnt for ship's saving,/For the good health of the swimming horse;) I don't see any particular rhyme or meter. Lots of references to to beer, ale, mead, etc. It's fine, I guess. A poem in the middle of a chapter in the middle of a larger piece is going to be weird.

"Back and Side go Bare" feels like it needs to be sung. I don't really see how to bridge the last two lines of the refrain (Whether-enough), but it's fun. 

The verses mostly alternate between 7 and 8 feet, and the 1st and 3rd lines rhme.

It's mostly just a fun drinking song. 4/5. 

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A to Z 2026: BEER! ("Beer bring I to thee..." and "Back and Side go Bare")

  B is for Beer! Bonus:  Beer, beer, and MORE BEER! Summary: Poets like beer. Commentary: So, one of the idiosyncrasies of  doing A to Z out...