Reference to the lyrics already instanced will show you that they are written in various measures. And while it is foreign to my purpose to discuss such purely technical points of poetry, [1] permit me to direct your attention to a few points of song measure.
[1] The Art of Versification, by J. Berg Esenwein and Mary Eleanor Roberts—one of the volumes in "The Writer's Library"—covers this subject with a thoroughness it would be useless for me to attempt. Therefore if you wish to take this subject up more in detail, I refer you to this excellent book.
An individual poetic measure is attained by the use of metre in a certain distinct way. Because the normal combinations of the emphatic and the unemphatic syllables of the English language are but five, there are only five different poetic measures. Let us now see how an investigation of the bafflingly unexact measures of our examples will yield—even though their irregular natures will not permit of precise poetic instances—the few helpful hints we require.
(a) The first measure—called by students of poetry the trochaic measure—is founded on the use of a long or emphatic syllable followed by a short or unemphatic syllable, It has a light, tripping movement, therefore it is peculiarly fitted for the expression of lively subjects. One of our examples shows this rather clearly:
' ' ' ' ' There's a | little | spark of | love still | burning
Yet this is not a measure that is commonly found in the popular song. Other combinations seem to fit popular song needs quite as well, if not better.
(b) The second measure—called the iambic measure—is the reverse of the first. That is, the short or unemphatic syllable precedes the long or emphatic syllable. "Alexander's Ragtime Band " uses this measure at the beginning of the chorus.
' ' ' '
Come on | and hear | come on | and hear
The first verse of Mr. Harris's song shows this measure even more clearly:
' ' ' ' '
You sit | at home | and calm | ly read | your pa | per