“Soldier an' Sailor Too”
As I was spittin' into the Ditch aboard o' the Crocodile,I seed a man on a man-o'-war got up in the Reg'lars' style.'E was scrapin' the paint from off of 'er plates,an' I sez to 'im, “'Oo are you?”Sez 'e, “I'm a Jolly -- 'Er Majesty's Jolly -- soldier an' sailor too!”Now 'is work begins by Gawd knows when, and 'is work is never through;'E isn't one o' the reg'lar Line, nor 'e isn't one of the crew.'E's a kind of a giddy harumfrodite -- soldier an' sailor too!
An' after I met 'im all over the world, a-doin' all kinds of things,Like landin' 'isself with a Gatlin' gun to talk to them 'eathen kings;'E sleeps in an 'ammick instead of a cot,an' 'e drills with the deck on a slew,An' 'e sweats like a Jolly -- 'Er Majesty's Jolly -- soldier an' sailor too!For there isn't a job on the top o' the earth the beggar don't know, nor do --You can leave 'im at night on a bald man's 'ead, to paddle 'is own canoe --'E's a sort of a bloomin' cosmopolouse -- soldier an' sailor too.
We've fought 'em in trooper, we've fought 'em in dock,and drunk with 'em in betweens,When they called us the seasick scull'ry-maids,an' we called 'em the Ass Marines;But, when we was down for a double fatigue, from Woolwich to Bernardmyo,We sent for the Jollies -- 'Er Majesty's Jollies -- soldier an' sailor too!They think for 'emselves, an' they steal for 'emselves,and they never ask what's to do,But they're camped an' fed an' they're up an' fed before our bugle's blew.Ho! they ain't no limpin' procrastitutes -- soldier an' sailor too.
You may say we are fond of an 'arness-cut, or 'ootin' in barrick-yards,Or startin' a Board School mutiny along o' the Onion Guards;But once in a while we can finish in style for the ends of the earth to view,The same as the Jollies -- 'Er Majesty's Jollies -- soldier an' sailor too!They come of our lot, they was brothers to us;they was beggars we'd met an' knew;Yes, barrin' an inch in the chest an' the arm, they was doubles o' me an' you;For they weren't no special chrysanthemums -- soldier an' sailor too!
To take your chance in the thick of a rush, with firing all about,Is nothing so bad when you've cover to 'and, an' leave an' likin' to shout;But to stand an' be still to the Birken'ead drillis a damn tough bullet to chew,An' they done it, the Jollies -- 'Er Majesty's Jollies --soldier an' sailor too!Their work was done when it 'adn't begun; they was younger nor me an' you;Their choice it was plain between drownin' in 'eapsan' bein' mopped by the screw,So they stood an' was still to the Birken'ead drill, soldier an' sailor too!
We're most of us liars, we're 'arf of us thieves,an' the rest are as rank as can be,But once in a while we can finish in style(which I 'ope it won't 'appen to me).But it makes you think better o' you an' your friends,an' the work you may 'ave to do,When you think o' the sinkin' Victorier's Jollies -- soldier an' sailor too!Now there isn't no room for to say ye don't know --they 'ave proved it plain and true --That whether it's Widow, or whether it's ship, Victorier's work is to do,An' they done it, the Jollies -- 'Er Majesty's Jollies --soldier an' sailor too!
Words in this poem
- aboard adv.
- On board; into or within a ship or boat; hence, into or within a railway car. [Pref. a- on, in + board.]
- trooper n.
- A soldier in a body of cavalry; a cavalryman; also, the horse of a cavalryman.
- seasick a.
- Affected with seasickness.
- damn v. t.
- To condemn; to declare guilty; to doom; to adjudge to punishment; to sentence; to censhure. [OE. damnen dap), OF. damner, dampner, F. damner, fr. L. damnare, damnatum, to condemn, fr. damnum damage, a fine, penalty. Cf. Condemn, Damage.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
“Soldier an' Sailor Too” 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, “Soldier an' Sailor Too”, in Verses 1889–1896 (1889–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #323, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-verses/soldier-an-sailor-too.html, id L16837.
Form and metre
“Soldier an' Sailor Too” is 56 lines in 6 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic heptameter. 84% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.4 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 5% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AA-BBBBB crocodileA · styleA · plates · youB · tooB · throughB · crewB · tooB
- 2 AA-BBBBB thingsA · kingsA · cot · slewB · tooB · doB · canoeB · tooB
- 3 -A-A-B-BBB dock · betweensA · maids · marinesA · bernardmyo · tooB · emselves · doB · blewB · tooB
- 4 AABB-BBB yardsA · guardsA · viewB · tooB · us · knewB · youB · tooB
- 5 AA-B-BB-BB aboutA · shoutA · drill · chewB · jollies · tooB · youB · eaps · screwB · tooB
- 6 -A-A-BB-BB-B thieves · beA · style · meA · friends · doB · tooB · know · trueB · doB · jollies · tooB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| As I was spittin' into the Ditch aboard o' the Crocodile, | 16 | ·········˘/··/˘· |
| I seed a man on a man-o'-war got up in the Reg'lars' style. | 16 | ················ |
| 'E was scrapin' the paint from off of 'er plates, | 11 | ··········· |
| an' I sez to 'im, “'Oo are you?” | 8 | ········ |
| Sez 'e, “I'm a Jolly -- 'Er Majesty's Jolly -- soldier an' sailor too!” | 17 | ····/˘·/˘/˘/˘·/˘· |
| Now 'is work begins by Gawd knows when, and 'is work is never through; | 15 | ···˘/········/· |
| 'E isn't one o' the reg'lar Line, nor 'e isn't one of the crew. | 17 | ·/˘········/˘···· |
| 'E's a kind of a giddy harumfrodite -- soldier an' sailor too! | 17 | ·····/˘····/˘·/˘· |
| An' after I met 'im all over the world, a-doin' all kinds of things, | 17 | ···········/˘···· |
| Like landin' 'isself with a Gatlin' gun to talk to them 'eathen kings; | 17 | ·/˘····/˘········ |
| 'E sleeps in an 'ammick instead of a cot, | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| an' 'e drills with the deck on a slew, | 9 | ········· |
| An' 'e sweats like a Jolly -- 'Er Majesty's Jolly -- soldier an' sailor too! | 18 | ·····/˘·/˘/˘/˘·/˘· |
| For there isn't a job on the top o' the earth the beggar don't know, nor do -- | 19 | ··˘˘·········/˘···· |
| You can leave 'im at night on a bald man's 'ead, to paddle 'is own canoe -- | 18 | ············/˘··˘/ |
| 'E's a sort of a bloomin' cosmopolouse -- soldier an' sailor too. | 17 | ···········/˘·/˘· |
| We've fought 'em in trooper, we've fought 'em in dock, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| and drunk with 'em in betweens, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| When they called us the seasick scull'ry-maids, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| an' we called 'em the Ass Marines; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But, when we was down for a double fatigue, from Woolwich to Bernardmyo, | 18 | ·······/˘˘/······· |
| We sent for the Jollies -- 'Er Majesty's Jollies -- soldier an' sailor too! | 17 | ····/˘·/˘/˘/˘·/˘· |
| They think for 'emselves, an' they steal for 'emselves, | 11 | ··········· |
| and they never ask what's to do, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| But they're camped an' fed an' they're up an' fed before our bugle's blew. | 16 | ············//˘· |
| Ho! they ain't no limpin' procrastitutes -- soldier an' sailor too. | 16 | ····/˘····/˘·/˘· |
| You may say we are fond of an 'arness-cut, or 'ootin' in barrick-yards, | 18 | ···············/˘· |
| Or startin' a Board School mutiny along o' the Onion Guards; | 15 | ······/˘˘/··/˘· |
| But once in a while we can finish in style for the ends of the earth to view, | 19 | ·······/˘·········· |
| The same as the Jollies -- 'Er Majesty's Jollies -- soldier an' sailor too! | 17 | ····/˘·/˘/˘/˘·/˘· |
| They come of our lot, they was brothers to us; | 11 | ···/···/˘·· |
| they was beggars we'd met an' knew; | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Yes, barrin' an inch in the chest an' the arm, they was doubles o' me an' you; | 19 | ·············/˘···· |
| For they weren't no special chrysanthemums -- soldier an' sailor too! | 16 | ··/˘·/˘˘/˘/˘·/˘· |
| To take your chance in the thick of a rush, with firing all about, | 16 | ···········/˘··· |
| Is nothing so bad when you've cover to 'and, an' leave an' likin' to shout; | 18 | ·/˘····/˘·····/˘·· |
| But to stand an' be still to the Birken'ead drill | 12 | ············ |
| is a damn tough bullet to chew, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| An' they done it, the Jollies -- 'Er Majesty's Jollies -- | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘/˘ |
| soldier an' sailor too! | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Their work was done when it 'adn't begun; they was younger nor me an' you; | 17 | ·······/˘··/˘···· |
| Their choice it was plain between drownin' in 'eaps | 11 | ··········· |
| an' bein' mopped by the screw, | 8 | ·/˘·˘··· |
| So they stood an' was still to the Birken'ead drill, soldier an' sailor too! | 18 | ············/˘·/˘· |
| We're most of us liars, we're 'arf of us thieves, | 10 | ····/····· |
| an' the rest are as rank as can be, | 9 | ········· |
| But once in a while we can finish in style | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| (which I 'ope it won't 'appen to me). | 9 | ········· |
| But it makes you think better o' you an' your friends, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| an' the work you may 'ave to do, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| When you think o' the sinkin' Victorier's Jollies -- soldier an' sailor too! | 18 | ··········/˘/˘·/˘· |
| Now there isn't no room for to say ye don't know -- | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| they 'ave proved it plain and true -- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That whether it's Widow, or whether it's ship, Victorier's work is to do, | 18 | ····/˘············ |
| An' they done it, the Jollies -- 'Er Majesty's Jollies -- | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘/˘ |
| soldier an' sailor too! | 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.