by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)
The Widow's Party
Language: English
"Where have you been this while away, Johnnie, Johnnie?" 'Long with the rest on a picnic lay, Johnnie, my Johnnie, aha! They called us out of the barrack-yard To Gawd knows where from Gosport Hard, And you can't refuse when you get the card, And the Widow gives the party. (Bugle: Ta--rara--ra-ra-rara!) "What did you get to eat and drink, Johnnie, Johnnie?" Standing water as thick as ink, Johnnie, my Johnnie, aha! A bit o' beef that were three year stored, A bit o' mutton as tough as a board, And a fowl we killed with a sergeant's sword, When the Widow give the party. "What did you do for knives and forks, Johnnie, Johnnie?" We carries 'em with us wherever we walks, Johnnie, my Johnnie, aha! And some was sliced and some was halved, And some was crimped and some was carved, And some was gutted and some was starved, When the Widow give the party. "What ha' you done with half your mess, Johnnie, Johnnie?" They couldn't do more and they wouldn't do less, Johnnie, my Johnnie, aha! They ate their whack and they drank their fill, And I think the rations has made them ill, For half my comp'ny's lying still Where the Widow give the party. "How did you get away -- away, Johnnie, Johnnie?" On the broad o' my back at the end o' the day, Johnnie, my Johnnie, aha! I comed away like a bleedin' toff, For I got four niggers to carry me off, As I lay in the bight of a canvas trough, When the Widow give the party. "What was the end of all the show, Johnnie, Johnnie?" Ask my Colonel, for I don't know, Johnnie, my Johnnie, aha! We broke a King and we built a road -- A court-house stands where the reg'ment goed. And the river's clean where the raw blood flowed When the Widow give the party. (Bugle: Ta--rara--ra-ra-rara!)
Note: this poem is included mainly for historical and research purposes. It includes a harmful word that was common in its time, and should not be performed without an explanation of its historical context.
Authorship:
- by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936), "The Widow's Party" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882 - 1961), "The Widow's Party", 1906 [ voice and piano ], from Kipling Settings, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-01-11
Line count: 50
Word count: 320