FISHERMAN JIM'S KIDS by Eugene Field: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
A fisherman raises his boys on a coastal hill, and the best part of his day is arriving home to their joyful greetings on the beach.
The poem
Fisherman Jim lived on the hill With his bonnie wife an' his little boys; 'T wuz "Blow, ye winds, as blow ye will-- Naught we reck of your cold and noise!" For happy and warm were he an' his, And he dandled his kids upon his knee To the song of the sea. Fisherman Jim would sail all day, But, when come night, upon the sands His little kids ran from their play, Callin' to him an' wavin' their hands; Though the wind was fresh and the sea was high, He'd hear'em--you bet--above the roar Of the waves on the shore! Once Fisherman Jim sailed into the bay As the sun went down in a cloudy sky, And never a kid saw he at play, And he listened in vain for the welcoming cry. In his little house he learned it all, And he clinched his hands and he bowed his head-- "The fever!" they said. 'T wuz a pitiful time for Fisherman Jim, With them darlin's a-dyin' afore his eyes, A-stretchin' their wee hands out to him An' a-breakin' his heart with the old-time cries He had heerd so often upon the sands; For they thought they wuz helpin' his boat ashore-- Till they spoke no more. But Fisherman Jim lived on and on, Castin' his nets an' sailin' the sea; As a man will live when his heart is gone, Fisherman Jim lived hopelessly, Till once in those years they come an' said: "Old Fisherman Jim is powerful sick-- Go to him, quick!" Then Fisherman Jim says he to me: "It's a long, long cruise-you understand-- But over beyont the ragin' sea I kin see my boys on the shinin' sand Waitin' to help this ol' hulk ashore, Just as they used to--ah, mate, you know!-- In the long ago." No, sir! he wuzn't afeard to die; For all night long he seemed to see His little boys of the days gone by, An' to hear sweet voices forgot by me! An' just as the mornin' sun come up-- "They're holdin' me by the hands!" he cried, An' so he died. "FIDDLE-DEE-DEE" There once was a bird that lived up in a tree, And all he could whistle was "Fiddle-dee-dee"-- A very provoking, unmusical song For one to be whistling the summer day long! Yet always contented and busy was he With that vocal recurrence of "Fiddle-dee-dee." Hard by lived a brave little soldier of four, That weird iteration repented him sore; "I prithee, Dear-Mother-Mine! fetch me my gun, For, by our St. Didy! the deed must be done That shall presently rid all creation and me Of that ominous bird and his 'Fiddle-dee-dee'!" Then out came Dear-Mother-Mine, bringing her son His awfully truculent little red gun; The stock was of pine and the barrel of tin, The "bang" it came out where the bullet went in-- The right kind of weapon I think you'll agree For slaying all fowl that go "Fiddle-dee-dee"! The brave little soldier quoth never a word, But he up and he drew a straight bead on that bird; And, while that vain creature provokingly sang, The gun it went off with a terrible bang! Then loud laughed the youth--"By my Bottle," cried he, "I've put a quietus on 'Fiddle-dee-dee'!" Out came then Dear-Mother-Mine, saying: "My son, Right well have you wrought with your little red gun! Hereafter no evil at all need I fear, With such a brave soldier as You-My-Love here!" She kissed the dear boy. (The bird in the tree Continued to whistle his "Fiddle-dee-dee")
A fisherman raises his boys on a coastal hill, and the best part of his day is arriving home to their joyful greetings on the beach. Then fever strikes both children, and Jim spends the rest of his life just going through the motions until, on his deathbed, he sees his boys waiting for him on a radiant shore — and dies reaching for their hands.
Line-by-line
Fisherman Jim lived on the hill / With his bonnie wife an' his little boys;
Fisherman Jim would sail all day, / But, when come night, upon the sands
Once Fisherman Jim sailed into the bay / As the sun went down in a cloudy sky,
'T wuz a pitiful time for Fisherman Jim, / With them darlin's a-dyin' afore his eyes,
But Fisherman Jim lived on and on, / Castin' his nets an' sailin' the sea;
Then Fisherman Jim says he to me: / 'It's a long, long cruise-you understand--'
No, sir! he wuzn't afeard to die; / For all night long he seemed to see
Tone & mood
Warm and straightforward in the first two stanzas, the tone shifts to quietly heartbreaking as the children die. It becomes mournful and hollow during Jim's long years of widowhood, and ultimately tender and comforting at the end. Field avoids melodrama—maintaining a grounded dialect voice—but the emotional depth flows steadily throughout.
Symbols & metaphors
- The shore / the sands — Throughout the poem, the beach serves as the connection between Jim's work life at sea and his home life on the hill. The boys welcoming him on the sand represent everything he cherishes. When that shore appears again in his final moments, it transforms into the boundary between this life and whatever lies ahead.
- The boys' waving hands — The children’s gesture of waving at Jim's boat appears three times: during their daily ritual, in their intense final moments, and in Jim's deathbed vision. This recurring action ties the entire poem together, turning a simple childhood habit into a powerful symbol of love that endures beyond death.
- The sea voyage — Jim refers to death as 'a long, long cruise,' while calling his aging body the 'ol' hulk.' This choice of words reflects his humble yet thoughtful perspective on dying — it presents the afterlife as just another leg of a journey he’s already familiar with.
- The cloudy sky at sunset — The poem features a moment of pathetic fallacy. The cloudy evening when Jim comes back to silence hints at the disaster that awaits him at home, without Field needing to explicitly mention it.
- The shining sand — In contrast to the typical beach described in the early stanzas, the sand in Jim's vision is *shining* — hinting at a heavenly or transformed landscape, just enough different from the real shore to indicate that he's perceiving something beyond the physical realm.
Historical context
Eugene Field penned this poem in the 1880s, a time when child mortality due to infectious diseases was a common heartache in America. Scarlet fever, typhoid, and diphtheria could ravage a family in a matter of days, leaving few untouched. Field experienced the loss of his own children and wrote about childhood and grief in a way that resonated deeply with readers, feeling more personal than sentimental. He earned the title of "poet of childhood," and his poems were widely published in newspapers, aimed at everyday people rather than literary circles. The fisherman setting draws on a long-standing tradition of maritime elegy, from folk ballads to Tennyson, but Field removes the lofty language, opting for a rough, relatable dialect. The poem's portrayal of a deathbed reunion reflects the era's common belief in consolation theology, which reassured grieving parents that they would reunite with their children in heaven.
FAQ
The poem mentions only 'the fever' — a term that would have been immediately recognizable to Field's 19th-century readers as one of the deadly epidemic fevers (like typhoid, scarlet fever, or diphtheria) that could claim a child's life within days. Field avoids specifying which fever it is because he doesn't have to; every parent in his audience understood the weight of that word.
They're feverishly delirious and seem to think they're back on the beach, signaling Jim's boat to come in. It's the final memory their minds cling to — the daily routine of greeting their father when he returned. Field uses this to illustrate how deeply ingrained that habit was and how painfully it resonates in light of their deaths.
The narrator is a friend or neighbor of Jim's who remains unnamed — someone who was there at his deathbed and heard his last words. Field uses the first person ('says he to me') to create the impression of a direct eyewitness account, adding a sense of reality and making it feel less like a crafted poem. It's unclear if the story is autobiographical, but it's worth noting that Field experienced the loss of his own children.
Field leaves that open. The narrator shares Jim's words and observations, leaving interpretation open and avoiding any supernatural confirmation. What truly matters is that Jim fully believed in it, found peace in that belief, and faced death without fear. The poem doesn't push you to determine if the vision was real.
A hulk is an old, decommissioned ship — one that's finished its journey. Jim uses this term to refer to his own aging body, which aligns well with his tendency to think in nautical terms. It’s self-deprecating and somewhat melancholic, yet also straightforward: he’s prepared to be retired.
Field aimed his writing at a newspaper audience, wanting Jim to come across as a genuine working man instead of a fictional character. The dialect roots the poem in a particular social context — the coastal working-class experience — making the emotions resonate as authentic rather than contrived. This choice also prevents the tone from slipping into the overly sentimental territory that could have felt insincere.
The poem presents death as a challenge that can be overcome on a spiritual level, even while it devastates you emotionally. Jim's many empty years following the boys' deaths illustrate that grief is genuine and lingers on. Yet, the ending emphasizes that love triumphs over death — the boys are waiting, the reunion takes place, and Jim transitions without fear. It offers comfort without trivializing the pain that preceded it.
It was written in a time when discussions about children's deaths were common in family literature, and Field's audience likely read it to both children and adults. Nowadays, it might be seen as too emotionally intense for young kids, but it resonates well with older students (middle school and up) because it doesn't shy away from grief — it captures the entire journey from joy to loss and ultimately to hard-won peace.