Background: Ave Maria is a traditional Catholic hymn  Click here to listen: Ave Maria

Before Poem: From Medea by Seneca. Translates: “In distant years a time will come when Ocean will release the chains of things and the mighty earth will be revealed and Tiphys  will disclose new worlds, and there will be no ultimate Thule to be a limit to the lands” (Ellmann and O’Clair).
Line 1: “Luis de San Angel”- Keeper of Accounts of Aragon. Columbus wrote his first letter stating the discovery of the New World to him in February of 1493.  Read Entire Letter
Line 2: “wrest”- forcibly pull (something) from a person’s grasp (OED).
Line 4: “Into the Queen’s great heart”- Referring to Queen Isabel, wife of Ferdinand. Read more
Line 5: “perjured”-or perjure:willfully tell an untruth or make a misrepresentation under oath (OED).
Line 6: “sage”- (especially in ancient history or legend) a profoundly wise man; (OED).
Line 7: “Juan Perez”-Some believe he accompanied Columbus on the first voyage on the Santa Maria, but it is only confirmed by Columbus that he was on the second journey. Read more

Line 8: “Cathay”-the name by which China was known to medieval Europe (OED).
Line 9-12: “Here waves…another plunge”- ocean wave imagery: Waves

Line 13: “Sun’s red…drops light”-Red sunset traditionally means  good weather in the morning; When in evening, ye say, it will be fair weather: For the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today; for the sky is red and lowering.” The Bible Matthew 16: 2-3

Red Sunset means good weather tomorrow for sailors

Line 13: “Caravel”- historical a small, fast Spanish or Portuguese ship of the 15th-17th Centuries (OED).
Line 17: “Genoa”- Italian Port city and home of Christopher Columbus. Read More

Genoa, Scan from the Nuremberg Chronicles in 1493

Line 20: “frontier”- a line or border separating two countries (OED).
Line 21: “The Chan’s great continent” – Columbus thought he had reached Asia
Line 24: “chevron”-V-shaped line or stripe (OED).

“–Pocahuntus, a well-featured but wonton yong girle…”–The words William Strachey, an English author who documented many of the first happenings in America, said about Pocahontas.

Pocahontas; image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

“The Harbor Dawn:” The Harbor most likely referenced is New York Harbor.

New York Harbor as seen from the Brooklyn Ferry; Image courtesy of the Library of Congress American Memory Project

“400 years:” It has been “400 years” since Columbus arrived in America (see “Ave Maria”)

A traditional Roman Catholic surplice; image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Line 4: “gongs in white surplices”- a gong covered in a white vestment usually worn by Catholic priests

Line 7: “winch engines” – a winch is a reel, roller or pulley (OED)

Line 8: “drunken stevedore” – A stevedore is a workman employed either as overseer or labourer in loading and unloading the cargoes of merchant vessels (OED).

Stevedores in New York Harbor, circa 1912. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 12: “darkling harbor” – A darkling is an archaic term that refers to “a child of darkness; one dark in nature or character” (OED).

Line 12: “pillowed bay”- Crane could be using pillowed on multiple levels here. “Pillowed” could mean cushy or comfy but also refers to an architectural element: a wooden crosspiece which supports the beam of a plough or the bed of a wagon; A moulding set between the abacus and echinus in the capital of a column; esp. a volute in an Ionic capital. Also attrib. in pillow capital (OED)

Line 15: “keen fifings”- While “fifings” isn’t a real word, it is probably derived from “fife” or “fifer” meaning the instrument itself or someone who plays it. This would be consistent with Crane’s use of sounds earlier in the poem.

Line 15: “eddied”- “Eddied” is also not a word but is most likely derived from “eddy.” “Eddy” is the area of dead water underneath a ship.

Line 19: “immemorially the window…the half-covered chair”-While Crane lived in New York, his apartment overlooked the Brooklyn Bridge. This window and “half-covered chair” could be referring to various things in his surroundings.

Line 2o: “sheath of pallid air” – A sheath is a case used to hold a sword or knife. “Pallid” means “lacking depth or intensity of colour; faint or feeble in colour; spec. (of the face) wan, pale, esp. from illness, shock, etc. (OED)

Line 21: “sirens”- Sirens could have multiple layers of meaning here. They could either be the drones of ambulances and emergency vehicles or the mystical Greek mythology part-bird and part-human creatures that lure sailors with their enchanting singing (OED)

Knut Ekwall; "Fisherman and The Siren" Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Side margin: “Merge your seeds–with whom?” – the implication of this is sexual but there is no direct literary/cultural reference

Line 24: “murmurously”-with murmurs or murmuring; as a murmur (OED)

Line 25: “myriad of snowy hands”–the etymology of “myriad” has changed over time. It originally meant “ten thousand; a set of ten thousand of anything; esp. a unit of ten thousand soldiers.” Now, myriad tends to mean an innumerable amount of things, people, etc. (OED)

Line 27: “your hands within my hands are deeds…”- This is widely considered to be a love poem. Edward Brunner notes that it is important to identify who the speaker is addressing the poem to. (http://www.jstor.org/stable/20158008?seq=9)

Line 34: “From Cyclopean Towers across Manhattan waters”-The Cyclopean Towers are a geographic formation in Mount Solon, Virginia that resemble natural chimneys.

Postcard from the Cyclopean Towers in Mt. Solon, VA. Photo courtesy of Flickr

Crane could also be describing the way Manhattan skyscrapers appear when the sun reflects off them (a single beam of light being reflect, similar to the eye of Cyclops).

While this picture is of Tel Aviv, it shows how the sunset creates a single "eye" reflected off the windows. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Cyclops was a Roman mythological character with an eye in the middle of his forehead.

Cyclops. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 36: “cold gulls hither”- Gulls, or seagulls, make repeated appearances throughout “The Bridge.” “Hither” means to come near or to approach (OED).

Line 38: “mistletoe of dreams”-Seeing mistletoe in a dream is considered to be a foreshadowing of great happiness or rejoicing.

Line 39: “some distant hill”-Possibly a reference to “Quaker Hill” which appears later in the poem.

Line 40: “waking west”-Possibly a reference to the star earlier in the stanza (stars “wake” up at night)

Lines 1-18- Supposed to sound like a radio announcer is reading this portion of the poem.  Listen to a reading here.

Line 3: “Tintex”- “A household dye” (Baker 47). Photo of logo.

Line 3: “Japalac”- “A trademark for varnishes, stains, and enamels made by Glidden Company, Cleveland” (Baker 47).

Line 3: “Certain-teed Overalls”- Referring to the brand of overalls manufactured by Certain-teed Products Corporation (which also produces shingles, paints, varnishes, etc). (Baker 47).

Line 5: “Bert Williams”- An African-American comedian who died in 1922 (Baker 49).

"Bert Williams." Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 6: “Minstrels when you steal a chicken…”- Referring to the common assumption that Negro’s steal chickens (Baker 49).

Line 8: “Erie”- Referring to the Erie Railroad, a long railway system that passed by Crane’s childhood home in Warren, Ohio (Baker 52).

"Erie Railroad (1971)." Library of Congress. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 9: “Mazda”- Referring to the Edison Mazda Lamps (Baker 47).

Lines 9-10: “Thomas a Ediford”- A play on the name Thomas a Becket, who was a medieval Archbishop in England. Crane, however, combines the names of inventors Thomas Edison and Henry Ford (Baker 53).

"Thomas Edison Lightbulbs." Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

"Henry Ford's Model T." Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 13: “SCIENCE-COMMERCE and the HOLYGHOST”-  Crane compares the trilogy of science, commerce, and technology to the Christian trinity (Baker 54).

Line 14: “NORTHPOLE”-  Between the years 1925-1926, there was a series of attempts to reach the North Pole by airplane (Baker 54).

Line 16: “WIRES OR EVEN RUNning brooks”- This phrase is supposed to sound like the radio announcer’s voice is breaking up to the listeners.

Line 18: “as you like it…eh?”-  Referring to William Shakespeare’s play As You Like It (Baker 55).

"A Scene from William Shakespeare's Play, "As You Like It."" Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 20: “the Limited”- Referring to the 20th Century Limited, which was an express passenger train that ran on the New York Central Railroad (McCulloch).

"20th Century Limited." Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 24: “The Dakotas”- Referring to North and South Dakota.

Line 34: “Cheyenne”- The capital and largest city in Wyoming.

"Union Pacific Passenger Station, 121 West Fifteenth Street, Cheyenne." Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 34: “Kalamazoo”- A large city in southwest Michigan.

"Modern Train Station in Kalamazoo, Michigan (2006)." Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 39: “My Old Kentucky Home”-  Kentucky’s state song and the official song of the Kentucky Derby, written by Stephen C. Foster in 1921. Listen here.

Line 39: “Casey Jones”- Referring to the song called “The Ballad of Casey Jones.”  Casey Jones was a railroad engineer who had a trademark way of blowing the train’s whistle (Dodd). Listen here.

Line 40: “Some Sunny Day”-  A song written by composer Irving Berlin in 1922. Listen here.

Line 44: “Aunt Sally Simpson”-  A person who cared for Crane when he spent a summer on the Isle of Pines in the year 1926 (Craig 81).

Line 46: “Booneville”-  A town in Mississippi that lies in a cross-section of four different railroad companies (Norfolk-Southern, Kansas City Southern, Mississippi and Tennessee, and Redmont Railway).

"Boonesville, Mississippi Location Map." (2007). Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Line 53: “My father’s cannery”- Crane’s father owned a maple syrup cannery in Warren, Ohio (Baker 53).

Line 54 and Line 56: “Rail-squatters” and “Hobo-trekkers”- Both homeless railway figures that Crane recalls seeing from his childhood home by a railroad in Warren, Ohio.

"Two Hobos from the 1930's." Courtesy of: WikiMedia Commons.

Line 66: “reprobates”- [those who are] “rejected by God” (OED).  Crane is referring to old, lost hobos.

Line 70: “valley-sleepers”- This could be referring to sleeper trains that ran on the Ohio Valley Railroad Company.

Line 74: “Her”- Due to the nature of the section and the other references in the poem to Native Americans, “Her” is referencing Pocahontas, or “Powhatan’s Daughter.”

"A Photograph of the "Sedgeford Portrait" to Represent Pocahontas and Son." (1935). Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 75: “Trains”-Reference to the Pullman train.

"Pullman Train" (1962). Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Line 77: “Papooses”- A Native American Indian Child (Wikipedia).

"Nez Perce Baby," Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian (1911). Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Line 78: “Redskin Dynasties”-A reference to the vast Indian presence that is in the Midwest, the topic of interest for Crane in this poem. See “The Dance” for further references to Indians (“the serpent and the eagle”).

"Native American Chiefs" (1865).Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Line 82: “Ozarks”-Of or relating to the Quapaw people or their language (Oxford English Dictionary).

Line 82: “Iron Mountain”-From context, “Iron Mountain” is a reference to the Ozark region of Quapaw people, located in Missouri.

"Mist in the Ozark Mountains" (2003). Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Line 83-86: “Old gods of the rain…eatage”- These lines are most likely a reference to an ancient Indian myth. The lines are placed within the context of “Iron Mountain,” meaning the “old gods of the rain” are Indian gods buried deep in the mountain and are being fed kernels of corn from “eyeless fish” and “querulous crows” (Brunner 198).

Line 90: “Pullman breakfasters”- Passengers on the Pullman train dining.

Passengers Dining in a Pullman Parlour Railway Car." (1882). Courtesy of New York Public Library

Line 93: “Siskiyou”- A mountain range that exists in Northern California and Southern Oregon. This could also refer to the Siskiyou trail, an Indian trail that extended from Oregon to California (Wikipedia).

"Bear Mountain...in Siskiyou Wilderness." (2009). Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 95: “Cairo”- There are many locations named “Cairo” across the United States, but because of the later geographical reference of seeing the “Ohio merging,” this references Cairo, Illinois. Here, the Mississippi and the Ohio River converge (Wikipedia).

"Astronaut Photo of Cairo, Illinois." (2006). Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 96: “Ohio”- The Ohio River.

"Cairo Bridge, Spanning the Ohio River." (1890). Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 96: “Tennessee”- The Ohio merges into the Tennessee River, the largest tributary of the Ohio River (Wikipedia).

"Tennessee River." (2010). Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Line 100: “Memphis Johnny”- This could either refer to a song or is a nickname for the various rivers referenced in the poems.

Line 100: “Steamboat Bill”- This could either refer to a song or is a nickname for the various rivers referenced in the poems. Here are the lyrics for the song that this line references.

“Steamboat Bill.” (1919). Courtesy of Youtube.

Line 100: “Missouri Joe”-This could either refer to a song or is a nickname for the various rivers referenced in the poems.

Sophie Tucker, 'Missouri Joe' (1911)
Courtesy of Internet Archive.

Line 104: “Deep River” Here are the lyrics for the song that this line references.

The Harmonaires, ‘Deep River’ (1947?)
Courtesy of Internet Archive.