Gunga Din Poem by Rudyard Kipling

Gunga Din

Rating: 3.3


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 limpin' lump o' brick-dust, Gunga Din!
Hi! slippery ~hitherao~!
Water, get it! ~Panee lao~! [Bring water swiftly.]
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!" [Mr. Atkins's equivalent for "O brother."]
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~ in it [Be quick.]
Or I'll ~marrow~ you this minute [Hit you.]
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~ on 'is back, [Water-skin.]
'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 shan'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 livin' Gawd that made you,
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Len Webster 03 June 2011

A much-maligned poem - invariably by those who have either never read it or have failed to understand it!

27 16 Reply
Francie Lynch 04 May 2015

Never liked Kipling. He's a bigot and racist and it shows in all his work.

3 32 Reply
Floyd Farless 02 May 2016

Perhaps you need to reread the last few lines. I will bet you were never in service and for sure never in country

2 0
Al Bainbridge 01 July 2016

You are a fool Lynch. However I pity you. This is simply a wonderful poem, one of many written by a genious!

1 0
Daniel New 23 September 2020

How strange that our generation refuses to let a previous generation praise qualities that transcend class distinctions. This is a lovely poem for its day. We just need to wee it for what it was, and get over our Political Correctness.

4 0 Reply
Valerie Halliday 13 July 2020

My dad taught me this poem as a very young girl and I always remembered it, well mostly. For some reason recently it came into my mind, and I decided that I would learn it totally again. Feel it is good for my brain, and also reminds me fondly of my dad

1 0 Reply
Laurie bee 15 May 2020

written in an age where class distinction was rife, not only in occupied territories. but in England itself.

1 0 Reply
Jeffrey Wagner 03 March 2020

My first exposure to Gunga Din was an old Mr. McGoo cartoon as a kid. It pushed me to learn more about Gunga Din and his history. My research brought me to this wonderful poem and I'm forever grateful for Mr. McGoo.

0 0 Reply
chris 27 February 2020

What is the poem about

0 1 Reply
Paul H 04 August 2021

Can you read?

0 0
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Close
Error Success