The Ballad Of The "clampherdown" Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABCA ADEED AFAAF GHIIJ KLAII MNOON PLQII ARSTR IEUUI EPAAI AIVVI OIEII AIWWI AIVVI VVIIV IIIII VIXXI VELLE| It was our war ship Clampherdown | A |
| Would sweep the Channel clean | A |
| Wherefore she kept her hatches close | B |
| When the merry Channel chops arose | C |
| To save the bleached marine | A |
| - | |
| She had one bow gun of a hundred ton | A |
| And a great stern gun beside | D |
| They dipped their noses deep in the sea | E |
| They racked their stays and stanchions free | E |
| In the wash of the wind whipped tide | D |
| - | |
| It was our war ship Clampherdown | A |
| Fell in with a cruiser light | F |
| That carried the dainty Hotchkiss gun | A |
| And a pair o' heels wherewith to run | A |
| From the grip of a close fought fight | F |
| - | |
| She opened fire at seven miles | G |
| As ye shoot at a bobbing cork | H |
| And once she fired and twice she fired | I |
| Till the bow gun drooped like a lily tired | I |
| That lolls upon the stalk | J |
| - | |
| quot Captain the bow gun melts apace | K |
| The deck beams break below | L |
| 'Twere well to rest for an hour or twain | A |
| And botch the shattered plates again quot | I |
| And he answered quot Make it so quot | I |
| - | |
| She opened fire within the mile | M |
| As ye shoot at the flying duck | N |
| And the great stern gun shot fair and true | O |
| With the heave of the ship to the stainless blue | O |
| And the great stern turret stuck | N |
| - | |
| quot Captain the turret fills with steam | P |
| The feed pipes burst below | L |
| You can hear the hiss of the helpless ram | Q |
| You can hear the twisted runners jam quot | I |
| And he answered quot Turn and go quot | I |
| - | |
| It was our war ship Clampherdown | A |
| And grimly did she roll | R |
| Swung round to take the cruiser's fire | S |
| As the White Whale faces the Thresher's ire | T |
| When they war by the frozen Pole | R |
| - | |
| quot Captain the shells are falling fast | I |
| And faster still fall we | E |
| And it is not meet for English stock | U |
| To bide in the heart of an eight day clock | U |
| The death they cannot see quot | I |
| - | |
| quot Lie down lie down my bold A B | E |
| We drift upon her beam | P |
| We dare not ram for she can run | A |
| And dare ye fire another gun | A |
| And die in the peeling steam quot | I |
| - | |
| It was our war ship Clampherdown | A |
| That carried an armour belt | I |
| But fifty feet at stern and bow | V |
| Lay bare as the paunch of the purser's sow | V |
| To the hail of the Nordenfeldt | I |
| - | |
| quot Captain they hack us through and through | O |
| The chilled steel bolts are swift | I |
| We have emptied the bunkers in open sea | E |
| Their shrapnel bursts where our coal should be quot | I |
| And he answered quot Let her drift quot | I |
| - | |
| It was our war ship Clampherdown | A |
| Swung round upon the tide | I |
| Her two dumb guns glared south and north | W |
| And the blood and the bubbling steam ran forth | W |
| And she ground the cruiser's side | I |
| - | |
| quot Captain they cry the fight is done | A |
| They bid you send your sword quot | I |
| And he answered quot Grapple her stern and bow | V |
| They have asked for the steel They shall have it now | V |
| Out cutlasses and board quot | I |
| - | |
| It was our war ship Clampherdown | V |
| Spewed up four hundred men | V |
| And the scalded stokers yelped delight | I |
| As they rolled in the waist and heard the fight | I |
| Stamp o'er their steel walled pen | V |
| - | |
| They cleared the cruiser end to end | I |
| From conning tower to hold | I |
| They fought as they fought in Nelson's fleet | I |
| They were stripped to the waist they were bare to the feet | I |
| As it was in the days of old | I |
| - | |
| It was the sinking Clampherdown | V |
| Heaved up her battered side | I |
| And carried a million pounds in steel | X |
| To the cod and the corpse fed conger eel | X |
| And the scour of the Channel tide | I |
| - | |
| It was the crew of the Clampherdown | V |
| Stood out to sweep the sea | E |
| On a cruiser won from an ancient foe | L |
| As it was in the days of long ago | L |
| And as it still shall be | E |
Rudyard Kipling
(1)
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About The Ballad Of The "clampherdown"
The Ballad Of The "clampherdown" is a poem by Rudyard Kipling. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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