Explore "The Jacket" by Rudyard Kipling on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Through the Plagues of Egyp' we was chasin' Arabi, / Gettin' down an' shovin' in the sun; / An' you might 'ave called us dirty, an' you might ha' called us dry, / An' you might 'ave 'eard us talkin' at the gun. / But the Captain 'ad 'is jacket, an' the jacket it was new -- / ('Orse Gunners, listen to my song! ) / An' the wettin' of the jacket is the proper thing to do, / Nor we didn't keep 'im waitin' very long.
One day they gave us orders for to shell a sand redoubt, / Loadin' down the axle-arms with case; / But the Captain knew 'is dooty, an' he took the crackers out / An' he put some proper liquor in its place. / An' the Captain saw the shrapnel, which is six-an'-thirty clear. / ('Orse Gunners, listen to my song! ) / "Will you draw the weight," sez 'e, "or will you draw the beer? " / An' we didn't keep 'im waitin' very long. / _For the Captain, etc._