This is the house the South built. 
This is the mouse that gnawed at the house 
The South built. This is the cat 
That clawed the mouse that gnawed the house the South

Built. This is the stick, this the fire,
This the water, and this the man 
Who went to the city and would not die 
In the house the South built. Beyond

Nonsense and sentiment its elemental ruins 
Lie interchangeably. Dear ladies of clichés 
(Les dames aux magnoliers), choice gallants 
Of the inflexible code and the flexible wrist,

Made an edifice of grace, great porticos 
Of charm, faulty pediments of honor: 
Perpetrated the architecture of paranoia. 
But Jeannie was dishonored by a Yankee zephyr,

And Dinah Lou became a movie star.