Boots by Rudyard Kipling

Boots

by Rudyard Kipling

We're foot—slog—slog—slog—sloggin' over Africa

Foot—foot—foot—foot—sloggin' over Africa --

(Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin' up and down again!)

There's no discharge in the war!

Seven—six—eleven—five—nine-an'-twenty mile to-day

Four—eleven—seventeen—thirty-two the day before --

(Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin' up and down again!)

There's no discharge in the war!

Don't—don't—don't—don't—look at what's in front of you.

(Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin' up an' down again);

Men—men—men—men—men go mad with watchin' em,

An' there's no discharge in the war!

Count—count—count—count—the bullets in the bandoliers.

If—your—eyes—drop—they will get atop o' you!

(Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin' up and down again) --

There's no discharge in the war!

We—can—stick—out—'unger, thirst, an' weariness,

But—not—not—not—not the chronic sight of 'em,

Boot—boots—boots—boots—movin' up an' down again,

An' there's no discharge in the war!

'Taint—so—bad—by—day because o' company,

But night—brings—long—strings—o' forty thousand million

Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin' up an' down again

There's no discharge in the war!

I—'ave—marched—six—weeks in 'Ell an' certify

It—is—not—fire—devils, dark, or anything,

But boots—boots—boots—boots—movin' up an' down again,

An' there's no discharge in the war!

Try—try—try—try—to think o' something different

Oh—my—God—keep—me from goin' lunatic!

(Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin' up an' down again!)

There's no discharge in the war!

I was unaware of this poem--I admit, I am not a big Kipling reader--until I saw the preview for the movie 28 Years Later. The preview, mostly because of this poem, scared me so much that, even though I have already seen 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, I took my time watching the newest film after it came to streaming. I finally did watch 28 Years Later, and I can say that the use of this poem in the movie was well-done and terrifying.

This poem, which mimics the cadence of marching infantry, is Kipling's response to the Boer War (1899-1902), said to be the first modern war, due to the British use of scorched earth tactics, concentration camps, and the reliance on technology used. You can read more about it here.

This poem was published in Kipling's 1903 collection, The Five Nations. Kipling was not a soldier, but he covered The Boer War (and later, WWI) as a journalist. He would have seen firsthand the disasters the British Army suffered at the start of the war and then the atrocities it committed to turn the tide.

Besides the beat of soldiers marching, this poem also goes deeper and enters a psychological realm. Stanza 3 tells us that "men go mad" watching the boots, and seeing what is in front of the unit. The last two stanzas change from "We" and the more omniscient speaker into a first person speaker; we learn that he has been marching for 6 weeks and it is the marching that is driving him mad. In the last stanza he admonishes himself to try and think of something else to "keep me from goin' lunatic."

Notice, too, how the boots lines start in parenthesis and end up without them, suggesting their importance in the damage being done to the speaker. The other repeated line--There is no discharge in the war--is accurate for the time. Having a nervous breakdown during a war was not a ticket home, especially at the first half of this war, when the British troops were being slaughtered.

In 1915, actor Taylor Holmes recorded this poem, and it is this recording that appears in 28 Years Later. According to Wikipedia, this recording "has been used for its psychological effect in U.S. military Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape schools." It has also been used in at least 1 other horror movie and 1 video game.

This link takes you to the version used in the movie without the scenes from the movie. The added music certainly adds to the creepiness, but Taylor Holmes' reading is creepy in its own right. This link takes you to the official movie preview, which does have scenes from the 28 Years Later. People have since added this poem to clips from other movies, mostly war movies, and these are, of course, on YouTube.

I promise I will have something cheerier on Sunday!