Shillin' a Day
My name is O'Kelly, I've heard the RevellyFrom Birr to Bareilly, from Leeds to Lahore,Hong-Kong and Peshawur,Lucknow and Etawah,And fifty-five more all endin' in “pore”.Black Death and his quickness, the depth and the thickness,Of sorrow and sickness I've known on my way,But I'm old and I'm nervis,I'm cast from the Service,And all I deserve is a shillin' a day.(Chorus) Shillin' a day,Bloomin' good pay --Lucky to touch it, a shillin' a day!
Oh, it drives me half crazy to think of the days IWent slap for the Ghazi, my sword at my side,When we rode Hell-for-leatherBoth squadrons together,That didn't care whether we lived or we died.But it's no use despairin', my wife must go charin'An' me commissairin' the pay-bills to better,So if me you be'oldIn the wet and the cold,By the Grand Metropold, won't you give me a letter?(Full chorus) Give 'im a letter --'Can't do no better,Late Troop-Sergeant-Major an' -- runs with a letter!Think what 'e's been,Think what 'e's seen,Think of his pension an' ----
Words in this poem
- birr v. i.
- To make, or move with, a whirring noise, as of wheels in motion. [Cf. OE. bur, bir, wind, storm wind, fr. Icel. byrr wind. Perh. imitative.]
- quickness n.
- The condition or quality of being quick or living; life.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- ghazi n.
- Among Mohammedans, a warrior champion or veteran, esp. in the destruction of infidels.
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Shillin' a Day 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, Shillin' a Day, in Verses 1889–1896 (1889–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #323, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-verses/shillin-a-day.html, id L16759.
Form and metre
Shillin' a Day is 29 lines in 2 stanzas. 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% 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 -A--A-BCCBBBB revelly · lahoreA · peshawur · etawah · poreA · thickness · wayB · nervisC · serviceC · dayB · dayB · payB · dayB
- 2 -ABBA-CDDCCCCE-E i · sideA · leatherB · togetherB · diedA · charin · betterC · be'oldD · coldD · letterC · letterC · betterC · letterC · beenE · seen · anE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| My name is O'Kelly, I've heard the Revelly | 12 | ···˘/˘······ |
| From Birr to Bareilly, from Leeds to Lahore, | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Hong-Kong and Peshawur, | 6 | ······ |
| Lucknow and Etawah, | 6 | ······ |
| And fifty-five more all endin' in “pore”. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Black Death and his quickness, the depth and the thickness, | 12 | ····/˘····/˘ |
| Of sorrow and sickness I've known on my way, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| But I'm old and I'm nervis, | 7 | ······· |
| I'm cast from the Service, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And all I deserve is a shillin' a day. | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| (Chorus) Shillin' a day, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Bloomin' good pay -- | 4 | ···· |
| Lucky to touch it, a shillin' a day! | 10 | /˘········ |
| Oh, it drives me half crazy to think of the days I | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Went slap for the Ghazi, my sword at my side, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| When we rode Hell-for-leather | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Both squadrons together, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| That didn't care whether we lived or we died. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| But it's no use despairin', my wife must go charin' | 13 | ············· |
| An' me commissairin' the pay-bills to better, | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| So if me you be'old | 5 | ····· |
| In the wet and the cold, | 6 | ······ |
| By the Grand Metropold, won't you give me a letter? | 13 | ···········/˘ |
| (Full chorus) Give 'im a letter -- | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| 'Can't do no better, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Late Troop-Sergeant-Major an' -- runs with a letter! | 12 | ··/˘/˘····/˘ |
| Think what 'e's been, | 4 | ···· |
| Think what 'e's seen, | 4 | ···· |
| Think of his pension an' ---- | 6 | ···/˘· |
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.