Cells
I've a head like a concertina: I've a tongue like a button-stick:I've a mouth like an old potato, and I'm more than a little sick,But I've had my fun o' the Corp'ral's Guard: I've made the cinders fly,And I'm here in the Clink for a thundering drinkand blacking the Corporal's eye.With a second-hand overcoat under my head,And a beautiful view of the yard,O it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C.B.For “drunk and resisting the Guard!”Mad drunk and resisting the Guard--'Strewth, but I socked it them hard!So it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C.B.For “drunk and resisting the Guard.”
I started o' canteen porter, I finished o' canteen beer,But a dose o' gin that a mate slipped in, it was that that brought me here.'Twas that and an extry double Guard that rubbed my nose in the dirt;But I fell away with the Corp'ral's stockand the best of the Corp'ral's shirt.
I left my cap in a public-house, my boots in the public road,And Lord knows where, and I don't care, my belt and my tunic goed;They'll stop my pay, they'll cut away the stripes I used to wear,But I left my mark on the Corp'ral's face, and I think he'll keep it there!
My wife she cries on the barrack-gate, my kid in the barrack-yard,It ain't that I mind the Ord'ly room--it's that that cuts so hard.I'll take my oath before them both that I will sure abstain,But as soon as I'm in with a mate and gin, I know I'll do it again!With a second-hand overcoat under my head,And a beautiful view of the yard,Yes, it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C.B.For “drunk and resisting the Guard!”Mad drunk and resisting the Guard--'Strewth, but I socked it them hard!So it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C.B.For “drunk and resisting the Guard.”
Words in this poem
- concertina n.
- A small musical imstrument on the principle of the accordion. [From It. concerto a concert.]
- clink v. t.
- To cause to give out a slight, sharp, tinkling, sound, as by striking metallic or other sonorous bodies together. [OE. clinken; akin to G. klingen, D. klinken, SW. klinga, Dan. klinge; prob. of imitative origin. Cf. Clank, Clench, Click, v. i.]
- thundering a.
- Emitting thunder.
- blacking n.
- Any preparation for making things black; esp. one for giving a black luster to boots and shoes, or to stoves.
- canteen n.
- A vessel used by soldiers for carrying water, liquor, or other drink. [F. cantine bottle case, canteen (cf. Sp. & It. cantina cellar, bottle case), either contr. fr. It. canovettina, dim. of canova cellar, or, more likely, fr. OF. ]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Cells is in the public domain. This text is taken from Barrack-room ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #2819; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Rudyard Kipling, Cells, in Barrack-Room Ballads (1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2819, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-barrack-room/cells.html, id L04490.
Form and metre
Cells is 34 lines in 4 stanzas. 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.2 syllables. 6% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AAB-B-CDCCCDC stickA · sickA · flyB · drink · eyeB · head · yardC · — · guardC · guardC · hardC · — · guardC
- 2 AAB-B beerA · hereA · dirtB · stock · shirtB
- 3 --AA road · goed · wearA · thereA
- 4 AABB-ACAAACA yardA · hardA · abstainB · againB · head · yardA · — · guardA · guardA · hardA · — · guardA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I've a head like a concertina: I've a tongue like a button-stick: | 17 | ·····˘˘/˘·····/˘· |
| I've a mouth like an old potato, and I'm more than a little sick, | 17 | ······˘/······/˘· |
| But I've had my fun o' the Corp'ral's Guard: I've made the cinders fly, | 16 | ·············/˘· |
| And I'm here in the Clink for a thundering drink | 12 | ········/˘˘· |
| and blacking the Corporal's eye. | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| With a second-hand overcoat under my head, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| And a beautiful view of the yard, | 9 | ··/˘˘···· |
| O it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C.B. | 12 | ········/··· |
| For “drunk and resisting the Guard!” | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| Mad drunk and resisting the Guard-- | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| 'Strewth, but I socked it them hard! | 7 | ······· |
| So it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C.B. | 12 | ········/··· |
| For “drunk and resisting the Guard.” | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| I started o' canteen porter, I finished o' canteen beer, | 15 | ·/˘·˘//˘·/˘·˘/· |
| But a dose o' gin that a mate slipped in, it was that that brought me here. | 17 | ················· |
| 'Twas that and an extry double Guard that rubbed my nose in the dirt; | 16 | ······/˘········ |
| But I fell away with the Corp'ral's stock | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| and the best of the Corp'ral's shirt. | 8 | ········ |
| I left my cap in a public-house, my boots in the public road, | 16 | ······/˘·····/˘· |
| And Lord knows where, and I don't care, my belt and my tunic goed; | 15 | ············/˘· |
| They'll stop my pay, they'll cut away the stripes I used to wear, | 14 | ······˘/······ |
| But I left my mark on the Corp'ral's face, and I think he'll keep it there! | 17 | ················· |
| My wife she cries on the barrack-gate, my kid in the barrack-yard, | 16 | ······/˘·····/˘· |
| It ain't that I mind the Ord'ly room--it's that that cuts so hard. | 15 | ··············· |
| I'll take my oath before them both that I will sure abstain, | 14 | ············˘/ |
| But as soon as I'm in with a mate and gin, I know I'll do it again! | 18 | ················˘/ |
| With a second-hand overcoat under my head, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| And a beautiful view of the yard, | 9 | ··/˘˘···· |
| Yes, it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C.B. | 12 | ········/··· |
| For “drunk and resisting the Guard!” | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| Mad drunk and resisting the Guard-- | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| 'Strewth, but I socked it them hard! | 7 | ······· |
| So it's pack-drill for me and a fortnight's C.B. | 12 | ········/··· |
| For “drunk and resisting the Guard.” | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.