Verses 1889-1896 | Page 8

it's pack-drill for me and a
fortnight's C.B.
For "drunk and resisting the Guard."
GUNGA DIN
You may talk o' gin and beer
When you're quartered safe out 'ere,

An' you're sent to penny-fights an' Aldershot it;
But when it comes to
slaughter
You will do your work on water,
An' you'll lick the
bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it.
Now in Injia's sunny clime,

Where I used to spend my time
A-servin' of 'Er Majesty the Queen,

Of all them blackfaced crew
The finest man I knew
Was our
regimental bhisti, Gunga Din.
He was "Din! Din! Din!
You limpin' lump o' brick-dust, Gunga Din!
Hi! slippery ~hitherao~!
Water, get it! ~Panee lao~! [Bring water
swiftly.] You squidgy-nosed old idol, Gunga Din."
The uniform 'e wore
Was nothin' much before,
An' rather less than
'arf o' that be'ind,
For a piece o' twisty rag
An' a goatskin water-bag

Was all the field-equipment 'e could find.
When the sweatin'

troop-train lay
In a sidin' through the day,
Where the 'eat would
make your bloomin' eyebrows crawl,
We shouted "Harry By!" [Mr.
Atkins's equivalent for "O brother."] Till our throats were bricky-dry,

Then we wopped 'im 'cause 'e couldn't serve us all.
It was "Din! Din! Din!
You 'eathen, where the mischief 'ave you
been?
You put some ~juldee~ in it
[Be quick.]
Or I'll ~marrow~ you this minute
[Hit you.]
If you don't fill up my helmet, Gunga Din!"
'E would dot an' carry one
Till the longest day was done;
An' 'e
didn't seem to know the use o' fear.
If we charged or broke or cut,

You could bet your bloomin' nut,
'E'd be waitin' fifty paces right flank
rear.
With 'is ~mussick~ on 'is back, [Water-skin.] 'E would skip with
our attack,
An' watch us till the bugles made "Retire",
An' for all 'is
dirty 'ide
'E was white, clear white, inside
When 'e went to tend the
wounded under fire!
It was "Din! Din! Din!"
With the bullets kickin' dust-spots on the
green.
When the cartridges ran out,
You could hear the front-files shout,

"Hi! ammunition-mules an' Gunga Din!"
I shan't forgit the night
When I dropped be'ind the fight
With a
bullet where my belt-plate should 'a' been.
I was chokin' mad with
thirst,
An' the man that spied me first
Was our good old grinnin',
gruntin' Gunga Din.
'E lifted up my 'ead,
An' he plugged me where I
bled,
An' 'e guv me 'arf-a-pint o' water-green:
It was crawlin' and it
stunk,
But of all the drinks I've drunk,
I'm gratefullest to one from
Gunga Din.

It was "Din! Din! Din!
'Ere's a beggar with a bullet through 'is spleen;
'E's chawin' up the ground,
An' 'e's kickin' all around:
For Gawd's
sake git the water, Gunga Din!"
'E carried me away
To where a dooli lay,
An' a bullet come an'
drilled the beggar clean.
'E put me safe inside,
An' just before 'e
died,
"I 'ope you liked your drink", sez Gunga Din.
So I'll meet 'im
later on
At the place where 'e is gone --
Where it's always double
drill and no canteen;
'E'll be squattin' on the coals
Givin' drink to
poor damned souls,
An' I'll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din!
Yes, Din! Din! Din!
You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!
Though I've belted you and flayed you,
By the livin' Gawd that made
you,
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!
OONTS
(Northern India Transport Train)
Wot makes the soldier's 'eart to penk, wot makes 'im to perspire? It isn't
standin' up to charge nor lyin' down to fire;
But it's everlastin' waitin'
on a everlastin' road
For the commissariat camel an' 'is commissariat
load.
O the oont*, O the oont, O the commissariat oont!
With 'is silly neck
a-bobbin' like a basket full o' snakes; We packs 'im like an idol, an' you
ought to 'ear 'im grunt, An' when we gets 'im loaded up 'is blessed
girth-rope breaks.
0. Camel: -- ~oo~ is pronounced like ~u~ in "bull", but by Mr. Atkins to
rhyme with "front".
Wot makes the rear-guard swear so 'ard when night is drorin' in, An'
every native follower is shiverin' for 'is skin?
It ain't the chanst o'
being rushed by Paythans from the 'ills, It's the commissariat camel

puttin' on 'is bloomin' frills!
O the oont, O the oont, O the hairy scary oont!
A-trippin' over
tent-ropes when we've got the night alarm! We socks 'im with a
stretcher-pole an' 'eads 'im off in front, An' when we've saved 'is
bloomin' life 'e chaws our bloomin' arm.
The 'orse 'e knows above a bit, the bullock's but a fool,
The elephant's
a gentleman, the battery-mule's a mule;
But the commissariat
cam-u-el, when all is said