Departmental Ditties & Barrack Room Ballads by Rudyard Kipling
page 124 of 149 (83%)
page 124 of 149 (83%)
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The rattle an' stamp o' the lead-mules--
the jinglety-jink o' the chains--'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns . . . There's a wheel on the Horns o' the Mornin', an' a wheel on the edge o' the Pit, An' a drop into nothin' beneath you as straight as a beggar can spit: With the sweat runnin' out o' your shirt-sleeves, an' the sun off the snow in your face, An' 'arf o' the men on the drag-ropes to hold the old gun in 'er place--'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns . . . Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin' cool, I climbs in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule. The monkey can say what our road was-- the wild-goat 'e knows where we passed. Stand easy, you long-eared old darlin's! Out drag-ropes! With shrapnel! Hold fast--'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns--the screw-guns they all love you! So when we take tea with a few guns, o' course you will know what to do--hoo! hoo! Jest send in your Chief an' surrender-- it's worse if you fights or you runs: You may hide in the caves, they'll be only your graves, |
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