You may talk o’ gin and beer
When you’re quartered safe out ’ere,
An’ you’re sent to penny-fights an’ Aldershot it;
But when it comes to slaughter
You will do your work on water,
An’ you’ll lick the bloomin’ boots of ’im that’s got it,
Now in Injia’s sunny clime,
Where I used to spend my time
A-servin’ of ’Er Majesty the Queen,
Of all them blackfaced crew
The finest man I knew
Was our regimental bhisti, Gunga Din.
He was ‘Din! Din! Din!
You limping lump o’ brick-dust, Gunga Din!
Hi! slippery hitherao!
Water, get it! Panee lao![1]
You squidgy-nosed old idol, Gunga Din.’
The uniform ’e wore
Was nothin’ much before,
An’ rather less than ’arf o’ that be’ind,
For a piece o’ twisty rag
An’ a goatskin water-bag
Was all the field-equipment ’e could find.
When the sweatin’ troop-train lay
In a sidin’ through the day,
Where the ’eat would make your bloomin’ eyebrows crawl,
We shouted ‘Harry By!’[2]
Till our throats were bricky-dry,
Then we wopped ’im ’cause ’e couldn’t serve us all.
It was ‘Din! Din! Din!
You ’eathen, where the mischief ’ave you been?
You put some juldee[3] in it
Or I’ll marrow you this minute[4]
If you don’t fill up my helmet, Gunga Din!
’E would dot an’ carry one
Till the longest day was done;
An’ ’e didn’t seem to know the use o’ fear.
If we charged or broke or cut,
You could bet your bloomin’ nut,
’E’d be waitin’ fifty paces right flank rear.
With ’is mussick[5] on ’is back,
’E would skip with our attack,
An’ watch us till the bugles made ‘Retire,’
An’ for all ’is dirty ’ide
’E was white, clear white, inside
When ’e went to tend the wounded under fire!
It was ‘Din! Din! Din!’
With the bullets kickin’ dust-spots on the green.
When the cartridges ran out,
You could hear the front-files shout,
‘Hi! ammunition-mules an’ Gunga Din!’
I sha’n’t forgit the night;
When I dropped be’ind the fight
With a bullet where my belt-plate should ’a’ been.
I was chokin’ mad with thirst,
An’ the man that spied me first
Was our good old grinnin’, gruntin’ Gunga Din.
’E lifted up my ’ead,
An’ he plugged me where I bled,
An’ ’e guv me ’arf-a-pint o’ water-green:
It was crawlin’ and it stunk,
But of all the drinks I’ve drunk,
I’m gratefullest to one from Gunga Din.
It was ‘Din! Din! Din!’
’Ere’s a beggar with a bullet through ’is spleen;
’E’s chawin’ up the ground,
An’ ’e’s kickin’ all around:
For Gawd’s sake git the water, Gunga Din!
’E carried me away
To where a dooli lay,
An’ a bullet come an’ drilled the beggar clean.
’E put me safe inside,
An’ just before ’e died:
‘I ’ope you liked your drink,’ sez Gunga Din.
So I’ll meet ’im later on
At the place where ’e is gone—
Where it’s always double drill and no canteen;
’E’ll be squattin’ on the coals,
Givin’ drink to poor damned souls,
An’ I’ll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din!
Yes, Din! Din! Din!
You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!
Though I’ve belted you and flayed you,
By the living Gawd that made you,
You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!
Footnotes
[1] Bring water swiftly.
[2] Mr. Atkins’ equivalent for ‘O brother.’
[3] Be quick.
[4] Hit you.
[5] Water skin.
Lazarushian-leather - Likely a reference to one of two men named Lazarus in the Bible: In this case, the one from Luke 16:19-31, specifically Luke 16:24 where the rich man in Hades calls out for a comforting drop of water from poor beggar Lazarus, who is in the better place with the prophet Abraham: "'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.'"
3 replies
No real reason for posting this. Just thought of it this morning.
Text of the poem from https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ballads_and_Barrack-Room_Ballads/Gunga_Din
GUNGA DIN by Rudyard Kipling
You may talk o’ gin and beer
When you’re quartered safe out ’ere,
An’ you’re sent to penny-fights an’ Aldershot it;
But when it comes to slaughter
You will do your work on water,
An’ you’ll lick the bloomin’ boots of ’im that’s got it,
Now in Injia’s sunny clime,
Where I used to spend my time
A-servin’ of ’Er Majesty the Queen,
Of all them blackfaced crew
The finest man I knew
Was our regimental bhisti, Gunga Din.
He was ‘Din! Din! Din!
You limping lump o’ brick-dust, Gunga Din!
Hi! slippery hitherao!
Water, get it! Panee lao![1]
You squidgy-nosed old idol, Gunga Din.’
The uniform ’e wore
Was nothin’ much before,
An’ rather less than ’arf o’ that be’ind,
For a piece o’ twisty rag
An’ a goatskin water-bag
Was all the field-equipment ’e could find.
When the sweatin’ troop-train lay
In a sidin’ through the day,
Where the ’eat would make your bloomin’ eyebrows crawl,
We shouted ‘Harry By!’[2]
Till our throats were bricky-dry,
Then we wopped ’im ’cause ’e couldn’t serve us all.
It was ‘Din! Din! Din!
You ’eathen, where the mischief ’ave you been?
You put some juldee[3] in it
Or I’ll marrow you this minute[4]
If you don’t fill up my helmet, Gunga Din!
’E would dot an’ carry one
Till the longest day was done;
An’ ’e didn’t seem to know the use o’ fear.
If we charged or broke or cut,
You could bet your bloomin’ nut,
’E’d be waitin’ fifty paces right flank rear.
With ’is mussick[5] on ’is back,
’E would skip with our attack,
An’ watch us till the bugles made ‘Retire,’
An’ for all ’is dirty ’ide
’E was white, clear white, inside
When ’e went to tend the wounded under fire!
It was ‘Din! Din! Din!’
With the bullets kickin’ dust-spots on the green.
When the cartridges ran out,
You could hear the front-files shout,
‘Hi! ammunition-mules an’ Gunga Din!’
I sha’n’t forgit the night;
When I dropped be’ind the fight
With a bullet where my belt-plate should ’a’ been.
I was chokin’ mad with thirst,
An’ the man that spied me first
Was our good old grinnin’, gruntin’ Gunga Din.
’E lifted up my ’ead,
An’ he plugged me where I bled,
An’ ’e guv me ’arf-a-pint o’ water-green:
It was crawlin’ and it stunk,
But of all the drinks I’ve drunk,
I’m gratefullest to one from Gunga Din.
It was ‘Din! Din! Din!’
’Ere’s a beggar with a bullet through ’is spleen;
’E’s chawin’ up the ground,
An’ ’e’s kickin’ all around:
For Gawd’s sake git the water, Gunga Din!
’E carried me away
To where a dooli lay,
An’ a bullet come an’ drilled the beggar clean.
’E put me safe inside,
An’ just before ’e died:
‘I ’ope you liked your drink,’ sez Gunga Din.
So I’ll meet ’im later on
At the place where ’e is gone—
Where it’s always double drill and no canteen;
’E’ll be squattin’ on the coals,
Givin’ drink to poor damned souls,
An’ I’ll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din!
Yes, Din! Din! Din!
You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!
Though I’ve belted you and flayed you,
By the living Gawd that made you,
You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!
Footnotes
[1] Bring water swiftly.
[2] Mr. Atkins’ equivalent for ‘O brother.’
[3] Be quick.
[4] Hit you.
[5] Water skin.
I would also add:
"Aldershot it" - In the military training establishment in Aldershot, England https://www.answers.com/performing-arts-ec/What_does_Aldershot_it_mean_in_the_poem_Gunga_Din
bhishti - a water carrier as explained in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunga_Din
hitherao - a combination of "hither" with an imperative Hindi suffix https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/ewkveni
dooli - a palanquin, litter suspended from mens' shoulders, used like a medical stretcher in this case https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dooly
Lazarushian-leather - Likely a reference to one of two men named Lazarus in the Bible: In this case, the one from Luke 16:19-31, specifically Luke 16:24 where the rich man in Hades calls out for a comforting drop of water from poor beggar Lazarus, who is in the better place with the prophet Abraham: "'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.'"
edit: formatting and typos
Recitation by Clifton Crawford (1910?): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plzXILdHYB8