1 It got beyond all orders an' it got beyond all 'ope; It got to shammin' wounded an' retirin' from the 'alt. 'Ole Companies was lookin' for the nearest road to slope; It were just a bloomin' knock-out—an' our fault! Now there ain't no chorus 'ere to give, Nor there ain't no band to play; An' I wish I was dead 'fore I done what I did, Or seen what I seed that day! 2 We was sick o' bein' punished, an' we let 'em know it, too; An' a company-commander up 'an 'it us with a sword, An' some-one one shouted " 'Ook it! " an' it come to sove-ki-poo, An' we chucked our rifles from us—O my Gawd! 3 There was thirty dead an' wounded on the ground we wouldn't keep— No, there wasn't more than twenty when the front begun to go - But, Christ! along the line o' flight they cut us up like sheep, An' that was all we gained by doin' so! 4 I 'eard the knives be'ind me, but I dursn't face my man, Nor I don't know where I went to, 'cause I didn't 'alt to see, Till I 'eard a beggar squealin' out for quarter as 'e ran, An' I thought I knew the voice an'—it was me! 5 We was 'idin' under bedsteads more than 'arf a march away: We was lyin' up like rabbits all about the country-side; An' the Major cursed 'is Maker 'cause 'e'd lived to see that day, An'' the Colonel broke 'is sword acrost, an' cried. 6 We was rotten 'fore we started—we was never disciplined; We made it out a favour if an order was obeyed. Yes, every little drummer 'ad 'is rights an' wrongs to mind, So we had to pay for teachin'—an' we paid! 7 The papers 'id it 'andsome, but you know the Army knows; We was put to groomin' camels till the regiments withdrew, An' they gave us each a medal for subduin' England's foes, An' I 'ope you like my song—because it's true! An' there ain't no chorus 'ere to give, Nor there ain't no band to play; But I wish I was dead 'fore I done what I did, Or seen what I seed that day!
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