“Follow Me 'Ome”
There was no one like 'im, 'Orse or Foot,Nor any o' the Guns I knew;An' because it was so, why, o' course 'e went an' died,Which is just what the best men do.
So it's knock out your pipes an' follow me!An' it's finish up your swipes an' follow me!Oh, 'ark to the big drum callin',Follow me -- follow me 'ome!
'Is mare she neighs the 'ole day long,She paws the 'ole night through,An' she won't take 'er feed 'cause o' waitin' for 'is step,Which is just what a beast would do.
'Is girl she goes with a bombardierBefore 'er month is through;An' the banns are up in church, for she's got the beggar hooked,Which is just what a girl would do.
We fought 'bout a dog -- last week it were --No more than a round or two;But I strook 'im cruel 'ard, an' I wish I 'adn't now,Which is just what a man can't do.
'E was all that I 'ad in the way of a friend,An' I've 'ad to find one new;But I'd give my pay an' stripe for to get the beggar back,Which it's just too late to do.
So it's knock out your pipes an' follow me!An' it's finish off your swipes an' follow me!Oh, 'ark to the fifes a-crawlin'!Follow me -- follow me 'ome!
Take 'im away! 'E's gone where the best men go.Take 'im away! An' the gun-wheels turnin' slow.Take 'im away! There's more from the place 'e come.Take 'im away, with the limber an' the drum.
For it's “Three rounds blank” an' follow me,An' it's “Thirteen rank” an' follow me;Oh, passin' the love o' women,Follow me -- follow me 'ome!
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- banns n.
- Notice of a proposed marriage, proclaimed in a church, or other place prescribed by law, in order that any person may object, if he knows of just cause why the marriage should not take place. [See Ban.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
“Follow Me 'Ome” 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, “Follow Me 'Ome”, in Verses 1889–1896 (1889–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #323, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-verses/follow-me-ome.html, id L16845.
Form and metre
“Follow Me 'Ome” is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 72%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.3 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
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 foot · knewA · died · doA
- 2 AA-- meA · meA · callin · ome
- 3 -A-A long · throughA · step · doA
- 4 -A-A bombardier · throughA · hooked · doA
- 5 -A-A were · twoA · now · doA
- 6 -A-A friend · newA · back · doA
- 7 AA-- meA · meA · crawlin · ome
- 8 AABB goA · slowA · comeB · drumB
- 9 AA-- meA · meA · women · ome
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There was no one like 'im, 'Orse or Foot, | 9 | ········· |
| Nor any o' the Guns I knew; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' because it was so, why, o' course 'e went an' died, | 13 | ············· |
| Which is just what the best men do. | 8 | ········ |
| So it's knock out your pipes an' follow me! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| An' it's finish up your swipes an' follow me! | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| Oh, 'ark to the big drum callin', | 8 | ········ |
| Follow me -- follow me 'ome! | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| 'Is mare she neighs the 'ole day long, | 8 | ········ |
| She paws the 'ole night through, | 6 | ······ |
| An' she won't take 'er feed 'cause o' waitin' for 'is step, | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| Which is just what a beast would do. | 8 | ········ |
| 'Is girl she goes with a bombardier | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Before 'er month is through; | 6 | ······ |
| An' the banns are up in church, for she's got the beggar hooked, | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| Which is just what a girl would do. | 8 | ········ |
| We fought 'bout a dog -- last week it were -- | 9 | ········· |
| No more than a round or two; | 7 | ······· |
| But I strook 'im cruel 'ard, an' I wish I 'adn't now, | 12 | ····/······· |
| Which is just what a man can't do. | 8 | ········ |
| 'E was all that I 'ad in the way of a friend, | 12 | ············ |
| An' I've 'ad to find one new; | 7 | ······· |
| But I'd give my pay an' stripe for to get the beggar back, | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| Which it's just too late to do. | 7 | ······· |
| So it's knock out your pipes an' follow me! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| An' it's finish off your swipes an' follow me! | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| Oh, 'ark to the fifes a-crawlin'! | 8 | ········ |
| Follow me -- follow me 'ome! | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| Take 'im away! 'E's gone where the best men go. | 11 | ··˘/······· |
| Take 'im away! An' the gun-wheels turnin' slow. | 11 | ··˘/······· |
| Take 'im away! There's more from the place 'e come. | 11 | ··˘/······· |
| Take 'im away, with the limber an' the drum. | 11 | ··˘/··/˘··· |
| For it's “Three rounds blank” an' follow me, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| An' it's “Thirteen rank” an' follow me; | 9 | ··//··/˘· |
| Oh, passin' the love o' women, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Follow me -- follow me 'ome! | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
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.