The Song in Camp
“Give us a song!” the soldiers cried,The outer trenches guarding,When the heated guns of the camps alliedGrew weary of bombarding.
The dark Redan, in silent scoff,Lay, grim and threatening, under;And the tawny mound of the MalakoffNo longer belched its thunder.
There was a pause. A guardsman said,“We storm the forts to-morrow;Sing while we may, another dayWill bring enough of sorrow.”
They lay along the battery’s side,Below the smoking cannon:Brave hearts, from Severn and from Clyde,And from the banks of Shannon.
They sang of love, and not of fame;Forgot was Britain’s glory:Each heart recalled a different name,But all sang “Annie Laurie.”
Voice after voice caught up the song,Until its tender passionRose like an anthem, rich and strong,--Their battle-eve confession.
Dear girl, her name he dared not speak,But, as the song grew louder,Something upon the soldier’s cheekWashed off the stains of powder.
Beyond the darkening ocean burnedThe bloody sunset’s embers,While the Crimean valleys learnedHow English love remembers.
And once again a fire of hellRained on the Russian quarters,With scream of shot, and burst of shell,And bellowing of the mortars!
And Irish Nora’s eyes are dimFor a singer, dumb and gory;And English Mary mourns for himWho sang of “Annie Laurie.”
Sleep, soldiers! still in honoured restYour truth and valour wearing:The bravest are the tenderest,--The loving are the daring.
Words in this poem
- redan n.
- A work having two parapets whose faces unite so as to form a salient angle toward the enemy. [F., for OF. redent a double notching or jagging, as in the teeth of a saw, fr. L. pref. re- re- + dens, dentis, a tooth. Cf. Redented.]
- guardsman n.
- One who guards; a guard.
- anthem v. t.
- To celebrate with anthems.
- gory a.
- Covered with gore or clotted blood. [From Gore.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Song in Camp is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, The Song in Camp, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/the-song-in-camp.html, id L25204.
Form and metre
The Song in Camp is 44 lines in 11 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 10 of its 11 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in iambic 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 ABAB criedA · guardingB · alliedA · bombardingB
- 2 ABAB scoffA · underB · malakoffA · thunderB
- 3 -A-A said · morrowA · day · sorrowA
- 4 ABAB sideA · cannonB · clydeA · shannonB
- 5 ABAB fameA · gloryB · nameA · laurieB
- 6 ABAB songA · passionB · strongA · confessionB
- 7 ABAB speakA · louderB · cheekA · powderB
- 8 ABAB burnedA · embersB · learnedA · remembersB
- 9 ABAB hellA · quartersB · shellA · mortarsB
- 10 ABAB dimA · goryB · himA · laurieB
- 11 ABAB restA · wearingB · tenderestA · daringB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| “Give us a song!” the soldiers cried, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The outer trenches guarding, | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| When the heated guns of the camps allied | 10 | ··/˘····/· |
| Grew weary of bombarding. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| The dark Redan, in silent scoff, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Lay, grim and threatening, under; | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| And the tawny mound of the Malakoff | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| No longer belched its thunder. | 8 | ·/˘·˘·/˘ |
| There was a pause. A guardsman said, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| “We storm the forts to-morrow; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Sing while we may, another day | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Will bring enough of sorrow.” | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| They lay along the battery’s side, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Below the smoking cannon: | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Brave hearts, from Severn and from Clyde, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And from the banks of Shannon. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| They sang of love, and not of fame; | 8 | ········ |
| Forgot was Britain’s glory: | 7 | ˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Each heart recalled a different name, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| But all sang “Annie Laurie.” | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Voice after voice caught up the song, | 8 | ········ |
| Until its tender passion | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Rose like an anthem, rich and strong,-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Their battle-eve confession. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| Dear girl, her name he dared not speak, | 8 | ········ |
| But, as the song grew louder, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Something upon the soldier’s cheek | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Washed off the stains of powder. | 8 | ·˘····/˘ |
| Beyond the darkening ocean burned | 8 | ···/˘˘/· |
| The bloody sunset’s embers, | 7 | ·/˘/·/˘ |
| While the Crimean valleys learned | 8 | ··˘//˘·˘ |
| How English love remembers. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| And once again a fire of hell | 8 | ··˘/·/·· |
| Rained on the Russian quarters, | 8 | ·˘··/˘/˘ |
| With scream of shot, and burst of shell, | 8 | ········ |
| And bellowing of the mortars! | 8 | ·/˘˘··/˘ |
| And Irish Nora’s eyes are dim | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| For a singer, dumb and gory; | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| And English Mary mourns for him | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Who sang of “Annie Laurie.” | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Sleep, soldiers! still in honoured rest | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Your truth and valour wearing: | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| The bravest are the tenderest,-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| The loving are the daring. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
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