Oonts
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' roadFor 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.
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 an' done,'E's a devil an' a ostrich an' a orphan-child in one.O the oont, O the oont, O the Gawd-forsaken oont!The lumpy-'umpy 'ummin'-bird a-singin' where 'e lies,'E's blocked the whole division from the rear-guard to the front,An' when we get him up again -- the beggar goes an' dies!
'E'll gall an' chafe an' lame an' fight -- 'e smells most awful vile;'E'll lose 'isself for ever if you let 'im stray a mile;'E's game to graze the 'ole day long an' 'owl the 'ole night through,An' when 'e comes to greasy ground 'e splits 'isself in two.O the oont, O the oont, O the floppin', droppin' oont!When 'is long legs give from under an' 'is meltin' eye is dim,The tribes is up be'ind us, and the tribes is out in front --It ain't no jam for Tommy, but it's kites an' crows for 'im.
So when the cruel march is done, an' when the roads is blind,An' when we sees the camp in front an' 'ears the shots be'ind,Ho! then we strips 'is saddle off, and all 'is woes is past:'E thinks on us that used 'im so, and gets revenge at last.O the oont, O the oont, O the floatin', bloatin' oont!The late lamented camel in the water-cut 'e lies;We keeps a mile be'ind 'im an' we keeps a mile in front,But 'e gets into the drinkin'-casks, and then o' course we dies.
Words in this poem
- penk n.
- A minnow. See Pink, n., 4. Walton.
- perspire v. i.
- To excrete matter through the skin; esp., to excrete fluids through the pores of the skin; to sweat. [L. perspirare to breathe through; per + spirare. See Per-, and Spirit.]
- idol n.
- An image or representation of anything. [OE. idole, F. idole, L. idolum, fr. Gr. Wit, and cf. Eidolon.]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- rushed a.
- Abounding or covered with rushes.
- scary n.
- Barren land having only a thin coat of grass. [Prov. E. scare scraggy.]
- tommy n.
- Bread, -- generally a penny roll; the supply of food carried by workmen as their daily allowance.
- shots n.
- The refuse of cattle taken from a drove.
- lamented a.
- Mourned for; bewailed.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Oonts 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, Oonts, in Verses 1889–1896 (1889–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #323, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-verses/oonts.html, id L16747.
Form and metre
Oonts is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABBCDCD. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.8 syllables.
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 AABBCDCD perspireA · fireA · roadB · loadB · oontC · snakesD · gruntC · breaksD
- 2 AABBCDCD inA · skinA · illsB · frillsB · oontC · alarmD · frontC · armD
- 3 AABBCDCD foolA · muleA · doneB · oneB · oontC · liesD · frontC · diesD
- 4 AABBCDCD vileA · mileA · throughB · twoB · oontC · dimD · frontC · imD
- 5 AABBCDCD blindA · be'indA · pastB · lastB · oontC · liesD · frontC · diesD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wot makes the soldier's 'eart to penk, wot makes 'im to perspire? | 14 | ···/˘·······˘/ |
| It isn't standin' up to charge nor lyin' down to fire; | 13 | ·/˘/˘·······/ |
| But it's everlastin' waitin' on a everlastin' road | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| For the commissariat camel an' 'is commissariat load. | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| O the oont, O the oont, O the commissariat oont! | 13 | ············· |
| With 'is silly neck a-bobbin' like a basket full o' snakes; | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| We packs 'im like an idol, an' you ought to 'ear 'im grunt, | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| An' when we gets 'im loaded up 'is blessed girth-rope breaks. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Wot makes the rear-guard swear so 'ard when night is drorin' in, | 14 | ·············· |
| An' every native follower is shiverin' for 'is skin? | 14 | ·/˘/˘/˘······· |
| It ain't the chanst o' being rushed by Paythans from the 'ills, | 13 | ·····/······· |
| It's the commissariat camel puttin' on 'is bloomin' frills! | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| O the oont, O the oont, O the hairy scary oont! | 13 | ········/˘/˘· |
| A-trippin' over tent-ropes when we've got the night alarm! | 13 | ···········˘/ |
| We socks 'im with a stretcher-pole an' 'eads 'im off in front, | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| An' when we've saved 'is bloomin' life 'e chaws our bloomin' arm. | 14 | ··········/··· |
| The 'orse 'e knows above a bit, the bullock's but a fool, | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| The elephant's a gentleman, the battery-mule's a mule; | 12 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘··· |
| But the commissariat cam-u-el, when all is said an' done, | 15 | ··············· |
| 'E's a devil an' a ostrich an' a orphan-child in one. | 14 | ··/··/˘··/˘··· |
| O the oont, O the oont, O the Gawd-forsaken oont! | 13 | ·········˘/˘· |
| The lumpy-'umpy 'ummin'-bird a-singin' where 'e lies, | 14 | ·/˘······/˘··· |
| 'E's blocked the whole division from the rear-guard to the front, | 14 | ····˘/˘······· |
| An' when we get him up again -- the beggar goes an' dies! | 14 | ······˘/·/˘··· |
| 'E'll gall an' chafe an' lame an' fight -- 'e smells most awful vile; | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| 'E'll lose 'isself for ever if you let 'im stray a mile; | 13 | ·····/······· |
| 'E's game to graze the 'ole day long an' 'owl the 'ole night through, | 14 | ·············· |
| An' when 'e comes to greasy ground 'e splits 'isself in two. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| O the oont, O the oont, O the floppin', droppin' oont! | 13 | ············· |
| When 'is long legs give from under an' 'is meltin' eye is dim, | 15 | ··············· |
| The tribes is up be'ind us, and the tribes is out in front -- | 13 | ············· |
| It ain't no jam for Tommy, but it's kites an' crows for 'im. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| So when the cruel march is done, an' when the roads is blind, | 13 | ···/········· |
| An' when we sees the camp in front an' 'ears the shots be'ind, | 13 | ············· |
| Ho! then we strips 'is saddle off, and all 'is woes is past: | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| 'E thinks on us that used 'im so, and gets revenge at last. | 14 | ··········˘/·· |
| O the oont, O the oont, O the floatin', bloatin' oont! | 13 | ············· |
| The late lamented camel in the water-cut 'e lies; | 14 | ··˘/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| We keeps a mile be'ind 'im an' we keeps a mile in front, | 13 | ············· |
| But 'e gets into the drinkin'-casks, and then o' course we dies. | 15 | ··············· |
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