No, it’s Hambone, Hambone.
Where you been?
So it actually means ‘Summer has come in’, not “is a-comin’ in.” In archaic English up until after Shakespeare’s time, instead of saying “it has come” they conjugate the verb as “it is come.” Just like in French il est venu (not *il a venu). The final -en in *icumen *is not the English present participle -*ing *(or -in’). It’s the old Germanic ending for the past participle, an ending which used to be used with practically all English verbs, but now for only some of them. And the English verb tense you’re looking for is present perfect.
So to get the modern English present perfect construction, we had to:
- Lose the i- prefix. (Sumer is cumen in.)
- Lose the -en suffix. (Summer is come in.)
- Conjugate the perfect with have instead of be. (Summer has come in.)
Don’t know about Froggy, but it it were me, I’d have a sword AND a pistol by my side!
Actually, Robert Zimmerman took his nom de plume from Dylan Thomas.
Whether “a-changin’” has any basis in correct English, it can be considered poetic license, to fit the rhythm and make the sound more fluid. “The times they are a-changing” would not be proper English even if the “a” was omitted. Correct is “The times are changing,” but obviously this would detract from the song.
It’s a great site for anyone interested in this stuff, and there are different sections where people are allowed to post in different languages. Seems quite active, too.
And I can’t listen to that siong without thinking of the movie The Watchmen, why is that?
Dylan’s hero was Woody Guthrie and he was very familiar with his material.
Early in his career he fashioned a persona of a railway hobo to spice up a rather dull childhood story. He had surrounded himself in the works of various american folk artist for many years and he took on their phrases and wordings.
Got to carry weapons, 'cause he always carries cash.
Which is still used in the present day, in the expression “I’m on it,” meaning ‘currently engaged in action to produce a desired result’.
Boss: Johanna, did you notice I assigned you a shitload of Slobbovian translations?
Me: I’m on it, Boss! (My computer screen displaying the first one already halfway done.)
Got to be a joker, cuz he’s so hard to see.