Thursday 9 July 2009

Tommy schmutter



There's hope for this old country yet.

Despite all the pacifist whining and anti-British, anti-war propaganda of the MSM for their political-class masters most ordinary people in this country are neither against our troops nor against the idea of arms and armies.


Look around you on the street and you will not notice many people: young and not so young and even children wearing this country's desert camouflage but not in any post-ironic, we are all CND now kind of way.

Like the sailor suits and the bomber jackets before them, Desert DPM camouflage is worn unselfconsciously and, I suspect, rather proudly as casual and leisure wear.
Trust the rag trade to catch the true heart and spirit of a nation that still likes itself and honours those who wear its uniform.




Not that it's always easy.....


TOMMY

by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)




I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.


I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.


Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.


We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.


You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

7 comments:

JuliaM said...

Camo pattern for men is like animal prints for women. It never goes out of style...

Goodnight Vienna said...

I think you're right. Despite the best efforts of this govt, and parts of the media, this country and its people still retain a fierce pride in our Armed Forces.

WomanHonorThyself said...

I hope your optimism is right my friend!!!
Have a blessed Sunday!

James Higham said...

I'm by no means against our troops, quite the opposite but I am against politicians who send them places for political purposes only and eight get killed in one day for that pointlessness.

CherryPie said...

I agree with James on this one.

banned said...

Witnessed yesterday at the mainline railway station.
Young man, whose conversation and appearance identified him as being in Army training, being seen off at the station by his teenage bro. and two of his mates, all proud and as exited as can be.

MSM seem to be coming round to the decent kit now message. Sad that it took 15 deaths in 10 days for this to happen.

North Northwester said...

Hi guys! Long time no blog...

Back from a weekend away in my ancestral homeland: land of my fathers; land of song; land where there’s only a dodgy borrowed laptop to blog from.

Hello one and all, and thanks for your comments.

Got to say that our ordinary fellow subjects' or citizens' {hi Angel} respect for our armed forces is a tribute to the rule of law under which they serve and which they die to preserve.

In how many countries and at how many times has 'The soldiers are coming!' meant rape, murder, and looting?

I think that this war is the right war, i.e., the one that the Islamofascists long since declared against us @600 AD, and once again, despite high levels of officerly professionalism since before World War Two, our side is typified by lions led by donkeys - and if the general aren't standing up for better kit, or doing it too late, then it's the government's job to have supplied it in the first place and to have set better strategy.

And they didn't. But what do you expect from a party led and dominated by CND members or former CND members?

 

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