Danny Deever
“WHAT are the bugles blowin’ for?” said Files-on-Parade.
“To turn you out, to turn you out”, the Colour-Sergeant said.
“What makes you look so white, so white?” said Files-on-Parade.
“I’m dreadin’ what I’ve got to watch”, the Colour-Sergeant said.
For they’re hangin’ Danny Deever, you can hear the Dead March play,
The regiment’s in ’ollow square—they’re hangin’ him to-day;
They’ve taken of his buttons off an’ cut his stripes away,
An’ they’re hangin’ Danny Deever in the mornin’.
“What makes the rear-rank breathe so ’ard?” said Files-on-Parade.
“It’s bitter cold, it’s bitter cold”, the Colour-Sergeant said.
“What makes that front-rank man fall down?” said Files-on-Parade.
“A touch o’ sun, a touch o’ sun”, the Colour-Sergeant said.
They are hangin’ Danny Deever, they are marchin’ of ’im round,
They ’ave ’alted Danny Deever by ’is coffin on the ground;
An’ ’e’ll swing in ’arf a minute for a sneakin’ shootin’ hound—
O they’re hangin’ Danny Deever in the mornin’!
“’Is cot was right-’and cot to mine”, said Files-on-Parade.
“’E’s sleepin’ out an’ far to-night”, the Colour-Sergeant said.
“I’ve drunk ‘is beer a score o’ times”, said Files-on-Parade.
“’E’s drinkin’ bitter beer alone”, the Colour-Sergeant said.
They are hangin’ Danny Deever, you must mark ’im to ’is place,
For ’e shot a comrade sleepin’—you must look ’im in the face;
Nine ’undred of ’is county an’ the regiment’s disgrace,
While they’re hangin’ Danny Deever in the mornin’.
“What’s that so black agin’ the sun?” said Files-on-Parade.
“It’s Danny fightin’ ’ard for life”, the Colour-Sergeant said.
“What’s that that whimpers over’ead?” said Files-on-Parade.
“It’s Danny’s soul that’s passin’ now”, the Colour-Sergeant said.
For they’re done with Danny Deever, you can ’ear the quickstep play,
The regiment’s in column, an’ they’re marchin’ us away;
Ho! the young recruits are shakin’, an’ they’ll want their beer to-day,
After hangin’ Danny Deever in the mornin’.
Rudyard Kipling’s (1865-1936) frightening poem, “Danny Deever”(1890) is characteristic of order and fear in the English Military Regiments. It is about the title character who is sentenced to death—hanging specifically—for shooting a fellow soldier. This poem is symbolic of a pro-establishment sentiment, displaying Kipling’s pro-military stance, which was certainly in keeping with the prevalent Victorian attitude with regards to this issue.
This poem may be interpreted to deliver the message that the witnessing of punishment stands out as a reminder of how people must maintain the traditions that have been passed down to them, in order to not cause any social upheaval, which would only turn out for the worse, if it were to reach that stage, as indicated by Danny Deever’s imminent hanging.
Other examples of Kipling’s rightist, pro-English, pro-establishment, and pro-military stances were at work in two of his other famous poems titled “Recessional” and the “The White Man’s Burden.” They reflected the haughty attitude that the British, as well as other Europeans had towards the lands they conquered and the people that they subjugated—which Kipling viewed ultimately as “a favor” and “honor” that the British were bestowing upon them, also in keeping with the concept of Victorian social betterment.