That Day
It got beyond all orders an' it got beyond all 'ope;It got to shammin' wounded an' retirin' from the 'alt.'Ole companies was lookin' for the nearest road to slope;It were just a bloomin' knock-out--an' our fault!
Now there ain't no chorus 'ere to give,Nor there ain't no band to play;An' I wish I was dead 'fore I done what I did,Or seen what I seed that day!
We was sick o' bein' punished, an' we let 'em know it, too;An' a company-commander up an' 'it us with a sword,An' some one shouted “'Ook it!” an' it come to sove-ki-poo,An' we chucked our rifles from us--O my Gawd!
There was thirty dead an' wounded on the ground we wouldn't keep--No, there wasn't more than twenty when the front begun to go;But, Christ! along the line o' flight they cut us up like sheep,An' that was all we gained by doin' so.
I 'eard the knives be'ind me, but I dursn't face my man,Nor I don't know where I went to, 'cause I didn't 'alt to see,Till I 'eard a beggar squealin' out for quarter as 'e ran,An' I thought I knew the voice an'--it was me!
We was 'idin' under bedsteads more than 'arf a march away;We was lyin' up like rabbits all about the countryside;An' the major cursed 'is Maker 'cause 'e lived to see that day,An' the colonel broke 'is sword acrost, an' cried.
We was rotten 'fore we started--we was never disciplined;We made it out a favour if an order was obeyed;Yes, every little drummer 'ad 'is rights an' wrongs to mind,So we had to pay for teachin'--an' we paid!
The papers 'id it 'andsome, but you know the Army knows;We was put to groomin' camels till the regiments withdrew,An' they gave us each a medal for subduin' England's foes,An' I 'ope you like my song--because it's true!
An' there ain't no chorus 'ere to give,Nor there ain't no band to play;But I wish I was dead 'fore I done what I did,Or seen what I seed that day!
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- countryside n.
- A particular rural district; a country neighborhood. [Eng.] W.
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- drummer n.
- One whose office is to best the drum, as in military exercises and marching.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
That Day 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, That Day, in Barrack-Room Ballads (1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2819, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-barrack-room/that-day.html, id L04504.
Form and metre
That Day is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 5 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.5 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
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 A-A- opeA · alt · slopeA · fault
- 2 -A-A give · playA · did · dayA
- 3 A-A- tooA · sword · pooA · gawd
- 4 ABAB keepA · goB · sheepA · soB
- 5 ABAB manA · seeB · ranA · meB
- 6 ABAB awayA · countrysideB · dayA · criedB
- 7 ABAB disciplinedA · obeyedB · mindA · paidB
- 8 ABAB knowsA · withdrewB · foesA · trueB
- 9 -A-A give · playA · did · dayA
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. Read against iambic heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| It got beyond all orders an' it got beyond all 'ope; | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| It got to shammin' wounded an' retirin' from the 'alt. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| 'Ole companies was lookin' for the nearest road to slope; | 14 | ·/˘˘·/˘··/˘··· |
| It were just a bloomin' knock-out--an' our fault! | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| Now there ain't no chorus 'ere to give, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Nor there ain't no band to play; | 7 | ······· |
| An' I wish I was dead 'fore I done what I did, | 12 | ············ |
| Or seen what I seed that day! | 7 | ······· |
| We was sick o' bein' punished, an' we let 'em know it, too; | 15 | ····/˘/˘······· |
| An' a company-commander up an' 'it us with a sword, | 15 | ··/˘˘˘/˘······· |
| An' some one shouted “'Ook it!” an' it come to sove-ki-poo, | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| An' we chucked our rifles from us--O my Gawd! | 12 | ···/˘/˘····· |
| There was thirty dead an' wounded on the ground we wouldn't keep-- | 15 | ··/˘··/˘····/˘· |
| No, there wasn't more than twenty when the front begun to go; | 15 | ··/˘··/˘···˘/·· |
| But, Christ! along the line o' flight they cut us up like sheep, | 14 | ··˘/·········· |
| An' that was all we gained by doin' so. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I 'eard the knives be'ind me, but I dursn't face my man, | 12 | ············ |
| Nor I don't know where I went to, 'cause I didn't 'alt to see, | 15 | ··········/˘··· |
| Till I 'eard a beggar squealin' out for quarter as 'e ran, | 15 | ····/˘····/˘··· |
| An' I thought I knew the voice an'--it was me! | 11 | ··········· |
| We was 'idin' under bedsteads more than 'arf a march away; | 15 | ·············˘/ |
| We was lyin' up like rabbits all about the countryside; | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| An' the major cursed 'is Maker 'cause 'e lived to see that day, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘······· |
| An' the colonel broke 'is sword acrost, an' cried. | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| We was rotten 'fore we started--we was never disciplined; | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| We made it out a favour if an order was obeyed; | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Yes, every little drummer 'ad 'is rights an' wrongs to mind, | 15 | ·/˘˘/˘/˘······· |
| So we had to pay for teachin'--an' we paid! | 11 | ··········· |
| The papers 'id it 'andsome, but you know the Army knows; | 14 | ·/˘········/˘· |
| We was put to groomin' camels till the regiments withdrew, | 15 | ······/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| An' they gave us each a medal for subduin' England's foes, | 14 | ······/˘···/˘· |
| An' I 'ope you like my song--because it's true! | 11 | ··········· |
| An' there ain't no chorus 'ere to give, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Nor there ain't no band to play; | 7 | ······· |
| But I wish I was dead 'fore I done what I did, | 12 | ············ |
| Or seen what I seed that day! | 7 | ······· |
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