Choice of a path
January 3, 2009 1:25 AM   Subscribe

Could someone please explain these lines from Stephen King's The Tommyknockers? "For want of a shoe, the kingdom was lost... for the choice of a path, the ship was found."
posted by murtagh to Writing & Language (7 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
The first part is part of a very old rhyme about how a small discrepancy can fell a mighty kingdom. Dunno about that second part.
posted by telstar at 1:29 AM on January 3, 2009


I think she chose a different route than normal and tripped over the ship piece at the beginning.

Small choice, huge consequences.
posted by Lord_Pall at 1:36 AM on January 3, 2009


The rhyme is this:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

So because she chose a particular path for some tiny inconsequential reason, she found the ship that would otherwise have been there centuries longer.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:38 AM on January 3, 2009 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: Thanks a lot :) Really appreciate it.
posted by murtagh at 1:57 AM on January 3, 2009


And if you want to hear Tom Waits sing a variation of it:

"Misery's the River of the World."
posted by nevercalm at 7:37 AM on January 3, 2009 [1 favorite]


I read this book when it came out and this rhyme has been stuck in my head ever since. King has a knack for this kind of thing:
Late last night and the night before,
Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at the door.
I want to go out, don't know if I can,
'Cause I'm so afraid of the Tommyknocker man.
posted by camworld at 8:03 AM on January 3, 2009


i'm thinking pseudostrabismus may have missed a line, for want of a rider the letter was lost , for want of a letter the battle was lost... well this was the version i heard on Need for Speed - tokyo drift.. the ultimate source of ancient logic ...
posted by defsix at 8:06 AM on January 3, 2009 [1 favorite]


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