Kipling’s Classic Poem, “The Young British Soldier”

 

 

Re-posted by Nicholas Stix
From The Kipling Society

Among the blessings of the English language, the works of Rudyard Kipling are exceeded in beauty by those of only one individual author, Edward de Vere, alias William Shakespeare. (The King James Bible was a collective effort.)

A line from one of the poems in the collection Barrack Room Ballads and Other Verses, whence this ditty comes, became the title of the greatest novel to come out of World War II, "from here to eternity."

[Stix Note: “‘Arf” means half.]
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The Young British
Soldier
By Rudyard Kipling
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WHEN the 'arf-made recruity goes out to the East
'E acts like a babe an' 'e drinks like a beast,
An' 'e wonders because 'e is frequent deceased
Ere 'e's fit for to serve as a soldier.
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
So-oldier of the Queen!

Now all you recruities what's drafted to-day,
You shut up your rag-box an' 'ark to my lay,
An' I'll sing you a soldier as far as I may:
A soldier what's fit for a soldier.
Fit, fit, fit for a soldier . . .

First mind you steer clear o' the grog-sellers' huts,
For they sell you Fixed Bay'nets that rots out your guts -
Ay, drink that 'ud eat the live steel from your butts -
An' it's bad for the young British soldier.
Bad, bad, bad for the soldier . . .

When the cholera comes - as it will past a doubt -
Keep out of the wet and don't go on the shout,
For the sickness gets in as the liquor dies out,
An' it crumples the young British soldier.
Crum-, crum-, crumples the soldier . . .

But the worst o' your foes is the sun over'ead:
You must wear your 'elmet for all that is said:
If 'e finds you uncovered 'e'll knock you down dead,
An' you'll die like a fool of a soldier.
Fool, fool, fool of a soldier . . .

If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind,
Don't grouse like a woman nor crack on nor blind;
Be handy and civil, and then you will find
That it's beer for the young British soldier.
Beer, beer, beer for the soldier . . .

Now, if you must marry, take care she is old -
A troop-sergeant's widow's the nicest I'm told,
For beauty won't help if your rations is cold,
Nor love ain't enough for a soldier.
'Nough, 'nough, 'nough for a soldier . . .

If the wife should go wrong with a comrade, be loath
To shoot when you catch 'em - you'll swing, on my oath! -
Make 'im take 'er and keep 'er: that's Hell for them both,
An' you're shut o' the curse of a soldier.
Curse, curse, curse of a soldier . . .

When first under fire an' you're wishful to duck,
Don't look nor take 'eed at the man that is struck,
Be thankful you're livin', and trust to your luck
And march to your front like a soldier.
Front, front, front like a soldier . . .

When 'arf of your bullets fly wide in the ditch,
Don't call your Martini a cross-eyed old bitch;
She's human as you are - you treat her as sich,
An' she'll fight for the young British soldier.
Fight, fight, fight for the soldier . . .

When shakin' their bustles like ladies so fine,
The guns o' the enemy wheel into line,
Shoot low at the limbers an' don't mind the shine,
For noise never startles the soldier.
Start-, start-, startles the soldier . . .

If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white,
Remember it's ruin to run from a fight:
So take open order, lie down, and sit tight,
And wait for supports like a soldier.
Wait, wait, wait like a soldier . . .

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier of the Queen!




The Young British Soldier


1890

[October 12th 2017]



Publication


First published in the Scots Observer on June 28th 1890. The poem is listed in ORG as No. 465.


It is collected in:

• Barrack Room Ballads and Other Verses (1892)
• Inclusive Verse (1919)
• Definitive Verse (1940)
• The Sussex Edition vol xxxii (1939)
• The Burwash Edition vol xxv (1941)
• Cambridge Edition (2013) Ed. Thomas Pinney, p. 204.

The poem


This is one of the first group of Barrack Room Ballads, published after Kipling had returned to England in 1889. [What about 1890?] It is sung or recited by an experienced soldier giving good advice to young half-trained men who have just arrived in India and are misbehaving in a foolish and dangerous manner.


[The points of the foregoing paragraph were obvious in the poem, and thus unnecessary, ditto for the next one, except for the last clause.]

Watch what you drink, take care when the cholera is about, keep your sun-helmet on, work willingly, if you must marry, marry a sensible older woman, look after your rifle, sit tight if your officer is killed, and if you are wounded and left on the battlefield, shoot yourself before the enemy's womenfolk can come out and carve you up; wisdom that the young Kipling must have heard when chatting to privates and NCOs of the British regiments stationed in Lahore.


See "Kipling and the British Army in India" by Charles Carrington. In his biography of Kipling Carrington writes (p. 212):

No author in any literature has composed in verse or prose, so full and varied amd [sic] so relentlessly realistic a view of the soldier's life, with its alterations of boredom and terror, its deadening routine, its characteristic vices and corruption, its rare glories and its irrational fascination...

Notes on the text

[Verse 1]


'Arf made recruity a young man who had had some basic training and has been posted to a regiment in the East. He is instructed in techniques which will not only save his life but also give him a more comfortable time.


[Verse 2]


rag-box slang for 'mouth'.


lay song


[Verse 3]


grog strictly a mixture of rum and water that used to be issued in the Royal Navy until 1970, but often applied to any kind of alcoholic drink.


Fixed Bay'nets slang for a particularly dangerous alcoholic drink usually made in unhygienic surroundings and guaranteed to harm the drinker, if not kill him. 'Bay'nets' is short for 'bayonets', daggers which can be fixed to the barrel of a rifle to turn it into s spear, dangerous weapons.


butts in this contest the wooden stock of the rifle with a metal plate on the end which hits the ground at "Order Arms."


[Verse 4]


cholera caused by a number of types of cholerae, with some producing more severe disease than others. It is spread mostly by food and water that has been contaminated with human excrement containing the bacterium. See Dr. Gillian Sheehan's "Kipling and Medicine", and "Cholera Camp".


Keep out of the wet perhaps the wet canteen where liquor is sold, perhaps just keep out of the rain if possible for fear of a chill leading to other complaints. There would be difficulty drying wet clothes as well.


grouse grumble


crack on nor blind curse and swear


[Verse 6]


cast for fatigue nominated for various domestic and other jobs about the barracks or camp, cleaning, removung rubbish, carrying stores about, sometimes as a mild form of punishment.
'cast' in this case, means 'chosen', as when an actor is chosen for a part.


[Verse 7]


Troop-sergeant the senior non-commissioned officer in a troop of the Royal Artillery.


[Verse 8]


swing hang. - see "Danny Deever"


[Verse 10]


Martini The Martini–Henry was a breech-loading single shot lever actuated rifle used by the British Army from 1871 which combined the falling-block developed by Henry O. Peabody, improved by the Swiss Friedrich.von Martini, combined with the polygonal rifling designed by Alexander Henry.


[Verse 11]


Bustles in this context frameworks attached to the rear of womens' dresses so the garment drapes elegantly.


limbers carts for carrying ammunition, the horses are attached to the front, the guns to the rear. The advice is to pick off the gunners who would be collecting ammunition from the limbers before they can open fire. See "The Jacket". [sic] and "Ubique".


[Verse 12]


ruin to run from a fight see "The Drums of the Fore and Aft, (Wee Willie Winkie. [sic] and "That Day".





[JMcG/JR]