Danny Deever
“What are the bugles blowin' for?” said Files-on-Parade.“To turn you out, to turn you out”, the Colour-Sergeant said.“What makes you look so white, so white?” said Files-on-Parade.“I'm dreadin' what I've got to watch”, the Colour-Sergeant said.For they're hangin' Danny Deever, you can hear the Dead March play,The regiment's in 'ollow square -- they're hangin' him to-day;They've taken of his buttons off an' cut his stripes away,An' they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'.
“What makes the rear-rank breathe so 'ard?” said Files-on-Parade.“It's bitter cold, it's bitter cold”, the Colour-Sergeant said.“What makes that front-rank man fall down?” said Files-on-Parade.“A touch o' sun, a touch o' sun”, the Colour-Sergeant said.They are hangin' Danny Deever, they are marchin' of 'im round,They 'ave 'alted Danny Deever by 'is coffin on the ground;An' 'e'll swing in 'arf a minute for a sneakin' shootin' hound --O they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'!
“'Is cot was right-'and cot to mine”, said Files-on-Parade.“'E's sleepin' out an' far to-night”, the Colour-Sergeant said.“I've drunk 'is beer a score o' times”, said Files-on-Parade.“'E's drinkin' bitter beer alone”, the Colour-Sergeant said.They are hangin' Danny Deever, you must mark 'im to 'is place,For 'e shot a comrade sleepin' -- you must look 'im in the face;Nine 'undred of 'is county an' the regiment's disgrace,While they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'.
“What's that so black agin' the sun?” said Files-on-Parade.“It's Danny fightin' 'ard for life”, the Colour-Sergeant said.“What's that that whimpers over'ead?” said Files-on-Parade.“It's Danny's soul that's passin' now”, the Colour-Sergeant said.For they're done with Danny Deever, you can 'ear the quickstep play,The regiment's in column, an' they're marchin' us away;Ho! the young recruits are shakin', an' they'll want their beer to-day,After hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'.
Words in this poem
- county n.
- An earldom; the domain of a count or earl. [F. comt, fr. LL. comitatus. See Count.]
- quickstep n.
- A lively, spirited march; also, a lively style of dancing.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Danny Deever is in the public domain. This text is taken from Verses 1889-1896, Project Gutenberg ebook #323; 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, Danny Deever, in Verses 1889–1896 (1889–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #323, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-verses/danny-deever.html, id L25365.
Form and metre
Danny Deever is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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 ABABCCC- paradeA · saidB · paradeA · saidB · playC · dayC · awayC · mornin
- 2 ABABCCC- paradeA · saidB · paradeA · saidB · roundC · groundC · houndC · mornin
- 3 ABABCCC- paradeA · saidB · paradeA · saidB · placeC · faceC · disgraceC · mornin
- 4 ABABCCC- paradeA · saidB · paradeA · saidB · playC · awayC · dayC · mornin
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “What are the bugles blowin' for?” said Files-on-Parade. | 13 | ···/˘······˘/ |
| “To turn you out, to turn you out”, the Colour-Sergeant said. | 14 | ·········/˘/˘· |
| “What makes you look so white, so white?” said Files-on-Parade. | 13 | ···········˘/ |
| “I'm dreadin' what I've got to watch”, the Colour-Sergeant said. | 14 | ·········/˘/˘· |
| For they're hangin' Danny Deever, you can hear the Dead March play, | 15 | ··/˘/˘········· |
| The regiment's in 'ollow square -- they're hangin' him to-day; | 13 | ·/˘·····/˘··· |
| They've taken of his buttons off an' cut his stripes away, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘·····˘/ |
| An' they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'. | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| “What makes the rear-rank breathe so 'ard?” said Files-on-Parade. | 13 | ···········˘/ |
| “It's bitter cold, it's bitter cold”, the Colour-Sergeant said. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘/˘· |
| “What makes that front-rank man fall down?” said Files-on-Parade. | 13 | ···········˘/ |
| “A touch o' sun, a touch o' sun”, the Colour-Sergeant said. | 14 | ·········/˘/˘· |
| They are hangin' Danny Deever, they are marchin' of 'im round, | 15 | ··/˘/˘········· |
| They 'ave 'alted Danny Deever by 'is coffin on the ground; | 16 | ·/˘··/˘····/˘··· |
| An' 'e'll swing in 'arf a minute for a sneakin' shootin' hound -- | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| O they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'! | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| “'Is cot was right-'and cot to mine”, said Files-on-Parade. | 13 | ···········˘/ |
| “'E's sleepin' out an' far to-night”, the Colour-Sergeant said. | 14 | ·········/˘/˘· |
| “I've drunk 'is beer a score o' times”, said Files-on-Parade. | 13 | ···········˘/ |
| “'E's drinkin' bitter beer alone”, the Colour-Sergeant said. | 14 | ···/˘·˘/·/˘/˘· |
| They are hangin' Danny Deever, you must mark 'im to 'is place, | 15 | ··/˘/˘········· |
| For 'e shot a comrade sleepin' -- you must look 'im in the face; | 15 | ····/·········· |
| Nine 'undred of 'is county an' the regiment's disgrace, | 13 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘˘/ |
| While they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'. | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| “What's that so black agin' the sun?” said Files-on-Parade. | 13 | ····˘/·····˘/ |
| “It's Danny fightin' 'ard for life”, the Colour-Sergeant said. | 14 | ·/˘/˘····/˘/˘· |
| “What's that that whimpers over'ead?” said Files-on-Parade. | 13 | ···/˘······˘/ |
| “It's Danny's soul that's passin' now”, the Colour-Sergeant said. | 14 | ·/˘······/˘/˘· |
| For they're done with Danny Deever, you can 'ear the quickstep play, | 15 | ····/˘······/˘· |
| The regiment's in column, an' they're marchin' us away; | 13 | ·/˘·/˘·····˘/ |
| Ho! the young recruits are shakin', an' they'll want their beer to-day, | 15 | ···˘/·········· |
| After hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'. | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
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.