Barrack-Room Ballads

Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)



When 'Omer smote 'is bloomin' lyre,
      He'd 'eard men sing by land an' sea;
     An' what he thought 'e might require,
      'E went an' took -- the same as me!
 
     The market-girls an' fishermen,
      The shepherds an' the sailors, too,
     They 'eard old songs turn up again,
       But kep' it quiet -- same as you!
 
     They knew 'e stole; 'e knew they knowed.
      They didn't tell, nor make a fuss,
     But winked at 'Omer down the road,
      An' 'e winked back -- the same as us!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 23, 2023

27 sec read
135

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA XBXB CDCD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 494
Words 88
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

Rudyard Kipling

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English short-story writer, poet, and novelist chiefly remembered for his tales and poems of British soldiers in India and his tales for children. more…

All Rudyard Kipling poems | Rudyard Kipling Books

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