World War One
A mine explosion
THE SECOND COMING
Written and spoken by William Butler Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Written and spoken by William Butler Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
Holding the line
DOES IT MATTER?
by Siegfried Sassoon
Does it matter - losing your legs?
For people will always be kind,
And you need not show that you mind
When others come in after hunting
To gobble their muffins and eggs.
Does it matter - losing you sight?
There's such splendid work for the blind;
And people will always be kind,
As you sit on the terrace remembering
And turning your face to the light.
Do they matter - those dreams in the pit?
You can drink and forget and be glad,
And people won't say that you’re mad;
For they know that you've fought for your country,
And no one will worry a bit.
by Siegfried Sassoon
Does it matter - losing your legs?
For people will always be kind,
And you need not show that you mind
When others come in after hunting
To gobble their muffins and eggs.
Does it matter - losing you sight?
There's such splendid work for the blind;
And people will always be kind,
As you sit on the terrace remembering
And turning your face to the light.
Do they matter - those dreams in the pit?
You can drink and forget and be glad,
And people won't say that you’re mad;
For they know that you've fought for your country,
And no one will worry a bit.
SUICIDE IN THE TRENCHES
by Siegfried Sassoon
I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
by Siegfried Sassoon
I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
A parcel from home
THE GENERAL
by Siegfried Sassoon
"Good-morning; good-morning!" the General said
When we met him last week on our way to the Line,
Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of 'em dead,
And we're cursing his staff for incompetent swine.
"He's a cheery old card," grunted Harry to Jack
As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.
But he did for them both by his plan of attack.
by Siegfried Sassoon
"Good-morning; good-morning!" the General said
When we met him last week on our way to the Line,
Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of 'em dead,
And we're cursing his staff for incompetent swine.
"He's a cheery old card," grunted Harry to Jack
As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.
But he did for them both by his plan of attack.
Headquarters Staff of 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade June 1916, France
cursor over, or tap a face to see the name
cursor over, or tap a face to see the name
from Wikipedia:
On 17 October (1917), just before the Battle of the Ancre, Major-General Archibald Paris was wounded and replaced by Major-General Cameron Shute. Shute was appalled by the un-military 'nautical' traditions of the (Royal Naval) division and made numerous unpopular attempts to stamp out negligent hygiene practices and failures to ensure that weapons were kept clean. Following a particularly critical inspection of the trenches, Sub-Lieutenant AP Herbert wrote:
On 17 October (1917), just before the Battle of the Ancre, Major-General Archibald Paris was wounded and replaced by Major-General Cameron Shute. Shute was appalled by the un-military 'nautical' traditions of the (Royal Naval) division and made numerous unpopular attempts to stamp out negligent hygiene practices and failures to ensure that weapons were kept clean. Following a particularly critical inspection of the trenches, Sub-Lieutenant AP Herbert wrote:
The General inspecting the trenches
Exclaimed with a horrified shout
"I refuse to command a division
Which leaves its excreta about."
But nobody took any notice
No one was prepared to refute,
That the presence of shit was congenial
Compared to the presence of Shute.
Exclaimed with a horrified shout
"I refuse to command a division
Which leaves its excreta about."
But nobody took any notice
No one was prepared to refute,
That the presence of shit was congenial
Compared to the presence of Shute.
And certain responsible critics
Made haste to reply to his words
Observing that his staff advisors
Consisted entirely of turds.
For shit may be shot at odd corners
And paper supplied there to suit,
But a shit would be shot without mourners
If somebody shot that shit Shute.
Made haste to reply to his words
Observing that his staff advisors
Consisted entirely of turds.
For shit may be shot at odd corners
And paper supplied there to suit,
But a shit would be shot without mourners
If somebody shot that shit Shute.
Hanging on the wire
This song was sung by soldiers in the war to end all wars. 'It sarcastically recounts the location of various army members, not to be found in the combat zone.
This troop song was not popular with officers, who thought it bad for morale, though attempts to suppress it were unsuccessful.'
This troop song was not popular with officers, who thought it bad for morale, though attempts to suppress it were unsuccessful.'
HANGING ON THE OLD BARBED WIRE
If you want to find the General,
I know where he is, I know where he is, I know where he is,
If you want to find the General, I know where he is,
He's pinning another medal on his chest,
I saw him, I saw him, pinning another medal on his chest,
I saw him, pinning another medal on his chest.
If you want to find the Colonel,
I know where he is, I know where he is, I know where he is,
If you want to find the Colonel, I know where he is,
He's sitting in comfort stuffing his greedy gut,
I saw him, I saw him, sitting in comfort stuffing his greedy gut,
I saw him, sitting in comfort stuffing his greedy gut.
If you want to find the Major,
I know where he is, I know where he is, I know where he is,
If you want to find the Major, I know where he is,
He's home again on seven days leave,
I saw him, I saw him, home again on seven days leave,
I saw him, home again on seven days leave.
If you want to find the General,
I know where he is, I know where he is, I know where he is,
If you want to find the General, I know where he is,
He's pinning another medal on his chest,
I saw him, I saw him, pinning another medal on his chest,
I saw him, pinning another medal on his chest.
If you want to find the Colonel,
I know where he is, I know where he is, I know where he is,
If you want to find the Colonel, I know where he is,
He's sitting in comfort stuffing his greedy gut,
I saw him, I saw him, sitting in comfort stuffing his greedy gut,
I saw him, sitting in comfort stuffing his greedy gut.
If you want to find the Major,
I know where he is, I know where he is, I know where he is,
If you want to find the Major, I know where he is,
He's home again on seven days leave,
I saw him, I saw him, home again on seven days leave,
I saw him, home again on seven days leave.
If you want to find the Sargeant,
I know where he is, I know where he is, I know where he is,
If you want to find the Sargeant, I know where he is,
He's drinking all the company rum,
I saw him, I saw him, drinking all the company rum,
I saw him, drinking all the company rum.
If you want to find the Corporal,
I know where he is, I know where he is, I know where he is,
If you want to find the Corporal, I know where he is,
He's drunk again upon the dugout floor,
I saw him, I saw him, drunk again upon the dugout floor,
I saw him, drunk again upon the dugout floor.
If you want to find the Private,
I know where he is, I know where he is, I know where he is,
If you want to find the Private, I know where he is,
He's hanging on the old barbed wire,
I saw him, I saw him, hanging on the old barbed wire,
I saw him, hanging on the old barbed wire.