The Lost Legion
There's a Legion that never was 'listed,That carries no colours or crest,But, split in a thousand detachments,Is breaking the road for the rest.Our fathers they left us their blessing --They taught us, and groomed us, and crammed;But we've shaken the Clubs and the MessesTo go and find out and be damned(Dear boys!),To go and get shot and be damned.
So some of us chivy the slaver,And some of us cherish the black,And some of us hunt on the Oil Coast,And some on -- the Wallaby track:And some of us drift to Sarawak,And some of us drift up The Fly,And some share our tucker with tigers,And some with the gentle Masai(Dear boys!),Take tea with the giddy Masai.
We've painted The Islands vermilion,We've pearled on half-shares in the Bay,We've shouted on seven-ounce nuggets,We've starved on a Seedeeboy's pay;We've laughed at the world as we found it --Its women and cities and men --From Sayyid Burgash in a tantrumTo the smoke-reddened eyes of Loben(Dear boys!),We've a little account with Loben.
The ends o' the Earth were our portion,The ocean at large was our share.There was never a skirmish to windwardBut the Leaderless Legion was there:Yes, somehow and somewhere and alwaysWe were first when the trouble began,From a lottery-row in Manila,To an I.D.B. race on the Pan(Dear boys!),With the Mounted Police on the Pan.
We preach in advance of the Army,We skirmish ahead of the Church,With never a gunboat to help usWhen we're scuppered and left in the lurch.But we know as the cartridges finish,And we're filed on our last little shelves,That the Legion that never was 'listedWill send us as good as ourselves(Good men!),Five hundred as good as ourselves.
Then a health (we must drink it in whispers)To our wholly unauthorised horde --To the line of our dusty foreloopers,The Gentlemen Rovers abroad --Yes, a health to ourselves ere we scatter,For the steamer won't wait for the train,And the Legion that never was 'listedGoes back into quarters again!'Regards!Goes back under canvas again.Hurrah!The swag and the billy again.Here's how!The trail and the packhorse again.Salue!The trek and the laager again.
Words in this poem 15
- damned a.
- Sentenced to punishment in a future state; condemned; consigned to perdition.
- chivy v. t.
- To goad, drive, hunt, throw, or pitch. Dickens. [Cf. Chevy.]
- wallaby n.
- Any one of numerous species of kangaroos belonging to the genus Halmaturus, native of Australia and Tasmania, especially the smaller species, as the brush kangaroo (H. Bennettii) and the pademelon (H. [From a native name.]
- tantrum n.
- A whim, or burst of ill-humor; an affected air.
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- somewhere adv.
- In some place unknown or not specified; in one place or another.
- ahead adv.
- In or to the front; in advance; onward. [Pref. a- + head.]
- gunboat n.
- A vessel of light draught, carrying one or more guns.
- lurch v. t.
- To leave in the lurch; to cheat.
- horde n.
- A wandering troop or gang; especially, a clan or tribe of a nomadic people migrating from place to place for the sake of pasturage, plunder, etc.; a predatory multitude. Thomson. [F. horde (cf. G. horde), fr. Turk. ord, ordi, camp; of Tartar origin.]
- hurrah interj.
- A word used as a shout of joy, triumph, applause, encouragement, or welcome. [Cf. G., Dan., & Sw. hurra. Cf. Huzza.]
- swag v. i.
- To hang or move, as something loose and heavy; to sway; to swing. [Cf. Icel. sveggja, sveigja to bend, to sway, Norw. svaga to sway. See Sway.]
- billy n.
- A club; esp., a policeman's club.
- trek v. i.
- To draw or haul a load, as oxen.
- laager n.
- A camp, esp. one with an inclosure of travelers' wagons for temporary defense. [South Africa]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Lost Legion 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, The Lost Legion, in Verses 1889–1896 (1889–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #323, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-verses/the-lost-legion.html, id L16822.
Form and metre
The Lost Legion is 66 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 80% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 22 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic trimeter.
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-BCBCB listed · crestA · detachments · restA · blessing · crammedB · messesC · damnedB · boysC · damnedB
- 2 -A-AA-BCBC slaver · blackA · coast · trackA · sarawakA · fly · tigersB · masaiC · boysB · masaiC
- 3 -A-A---B-B vermilion · bayA · nuggets · payA · it · men · tantrum · lobenB · boys · lobenB
- 4 -A-A-B-B-B portion · shareA · windward · thereA · always · beganB · manila · panB · boys · panB
- 5 -A-A-B-B-B army · churchA · us · lurchA · finish · shelvesB · listed · ourselvesB · men · ourselvesB
- 6 A-AB-CBC-C-C-C-C whispersA · horde · foreloopersA · abroadB · scatter · trainC · listedB · againC · regards · againC · hurrah · againC · how · againC · salue · againC
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 anapaestic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There's a Legion that never was 'listed, | 9 | ··/˘·/·/˘ |
| That carries no colours or crest, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| But, split in a thousand detachments, | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Is breaking the road for the rest. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Our fathers they left us their blessing -- | 9 | //˘····/˘ |
| They taught us, and groomed us, and crammed; | 8 | ········ |
| But we've shaken the Clubs and the Messes | 10 | ··/˘····/˘ |
| To go and find out and be damned | 8 | ········ |
| (Dear boys!), | 2 | ·· |
| To go and get shot and be damned. | 8 | ········ |
| So some of us chivy the slaver, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| And some of us cherish the black, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| And some of us hunt on the Oil Coast, | 9 | ········· |
| And some on -- the Wallaby track: | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| And some of us drift to Sarawak, | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| And some of us drift up The Fly, | 8 | ········ |
| And some share our tucker with tigers, | 9 | ···//˘·/˘ |
| And some with the gentle Masai | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| (Dear boys!), | 2 | ·· |
| Take tea with the giddy Masai. | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| We've painted The Islands vermilion, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| We've pearled on half-shares in the Bay, | 8 | ········ |
| We've shouted on seven-ounce nuggets, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| We've starved on a Seedeeboy's pay; | 8 | ········ |
| We've laughed at the world as we found it -- | 9 | ········· |
| Its women and cities and men -- | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| From Sayyid Burgash in a tantrum | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| To the smoke-reddened eyes of Loben | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| (Dear boys!), | 2 | ·· |
| We've a little account with Loben. | 9 | ··/˘˘/··· |
| The ends o' the Earth were our portion, | 9 | ······//˘ |
| The ocean at large was our share. | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| There was never a skirmish to windward | 9 | ··/·/˘·/˘ |
| But the Leaderless Legion was there: | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| Yes, somehow and somewhere and always | 9 | ·/··/··/˘ |
| We were first when the trouble began, | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| From a lottery-row in Manila, | 9 | ··/˘··˘/˘ |
| To an I.D.B. race on the Pan | 9 | ········· |
| (Dear boys!), | 2 | ·· |
| With the Mounted Police on the Pan. | 9 | ··/˘˘/··· |
| We preach in advance of the Army, | 9 | ···˘/··/˘ |
| We skirmish ahead of the Church, | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| With never a gunboat to help us | 8 | ·/·/···· |
| When we're scuppered and left in the lurch. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| But we know as the cartridges finish, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| And we're filed on our last little shelves, | 9 | ····/·/˘· |
| That the Legion that never was 'listed | 9 | ··/˘·/·/˘ |
| Will send us as good as ourselves | 8 | ······˘/ |
| (Good men!), | 2 | ·· |
| Five hundred as good as ourselves. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Then a health (we must drink it in whispers) | 10 | ········/˘ |
| To our wholly unauthorised horde -- | 9 | ·//˘˘/˘·· |
| To the line of our dusty foreloopers, | 11 | ····//˘···· |
| The Gentlemen Rovers abroad -- | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘˘/ |
| Yes, a health to ourselves ere we scatter, | 10 | ····˘/··/˘ |
| For the steamer won't wait for the train, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And the Legion that never was 'listed | 9 | ··/˘·/·/˘ |
| Goes back into quarters again! | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| 'Regards! | 2 | ˘/ |
| Goes back under canvas again. | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| Hurrah! | 2 | ˘/ |
| The swag and the billy again. | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| Here's how! | 2 | ·· |
| The trail and the packhorse again. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Salue! | 2 | ˘/ |
| The trek and the laager again. | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
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.