tagged w/ Rudyard Kipling
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An American War Veteran
Tommy
By Rudyard Kipling
I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.
I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.
Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.
We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.
You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!
~~~
This is a picture from a facebook member on Veterans' Day 11.11.11
It says a lot about our country, don't you think? thinkingblue
Dan Kenney - Facebook
Based on various estimates, 500,000 to 840,000 veterans are homeless at some time during the year. It is also estimated by the VA that a veteran dies by suicide every 80 minutes. And nearly 20% of the returning forces from Afghanistan and Iraq suffer from either PTSD or major depression. This Veterans' Day four or five veterans will commit suicide. The price of war continues throughout the life of a veteran. Today reach out a hand to a vet.
OCCUPY WALL STREET - WE SHALL OVERCOME!An American War Veteran
Tommy
By Rudyard Kipling
I went into a... more
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If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it... more
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Recently Complete News Updates Today The Story of England is a grown-up version of Mr Rudyard Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill. Mr.Rudyard Kipling , who was born on this day in 1865, is one of several authors who have ridden the choppy seas of being connected to the empire.Recently Complete News Updates Today The Story of England is a grown-up version of Mr... more
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News Updates On my tenth birthday my mother gave me a copy of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'. Mr Charles Lutwidge (the archaic form of Lewis, just as "Mr Lewis Carroll"......News Updates On my tenth birthday my mother gave me a copy of 'Alice's... more
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Latest News Updates What a delight The Last of the Mr Thomas Hardy Players (Radio 4) turned out to be. Mr Julian Fellowes went to Dorchester to interview Mr Norrie Woodhall, a sharp 104-year old who knew Mr Thomas Hardy through his involvement with the local amateur-dramatics group.Latest News Updates What a delight The Last of the Mr Thomas Hardy Players (Radio 4)... more
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What a delight The Last of the Hardy Players (Radio 4) turned out to be. Julian Fellowes went to Dorchester to interview Norrie Woodhall, a sharp 104-year old who knew Thomas Hardy through his involvement with the local amateur-dramatics group.What a delight The Last of the Hardy Players (Radio 4) turned out to be. Julian... more
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I also, like a lot of journalists in town, had heard about the "angry man syndrome." Everybody talks about the anger inside Mr Stephen Harper, and wonder where it came from.I also, like a lot of journalists in town, had heard about the "angry man... more
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Good news for Rudyard Kipling fans who happen to watch CBBC because the channel is to show a 52 part series of The Jungle Book.
According to the Times, the series cost £8 million to make and has been sold world wide to many broadcasters.
"The BBC has pledged to reduce the amount it spends on programmes from overseas by about 20 per cent, but Steven Andrew, head of drama and acquisitions for CBBC, said the international co-production would update Kipling’s tale for a new generation."-The TimesGood news for Rudyard Kipling fans who happen to watch CBBC because the channel is to... more
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This little critter that darts around acacia trees could be the first discovered vegetarian spider.
"Bagheera kiplingi belongs among the big-eyed, athletic predators in the family of jumping spiders and gets its name from a panther in a Rudyard Kipling story. Yet a population of these spiders in Mexico mostly eats bits of the acacia trees, says Christopher Meehan of Villanova University in Pennsylvania."
Other spiders have been known to taste vegetable matter but no previously discovered species live exclusively on it.This little critter that darts around acacia trees could be the first discovered... more
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