Author: Banjo Paterson (Andrew Barton)

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When you're lying in your hammock, sleeping soft and sleeping sound,
Without a care or trouble on your mind,
And there's nothing to disturb you but the engines going round,
And you're dreaming of the girl you left behind;
In the middle of your joys you'll be wakened by a noise
And a clatter on the deck above your crown,
And you'll head the corporal shout as he turns the picket out,
"There's another blessed horse fell down."

You can see 'em in the morning, when you're cleaning out the stall,
A-leaning on the railings nearly dead,
And you reckon by the evening they'll be pretty sure to fall;
And you curse them as you tumble into bed.
Oh, you'll hear it pretty soon, "Pass the word for Denny Moon,
There's a horse here throwing handsprings like a clown;"
And it's shove the others back, or he'll cripple half the pack;
"There's another blessed horse fell down."

And when the war is over and the fighting is all done,
And you're all at home with medals on your chest,
And you've learnt to sleep so soundly that the firing of a gun
At your bedside wouldn't rob you of your rest;
As you lay in slumber deep, if your wife walks in her sleep,
And tumbles down the stairs and breaks her crown,
Oh, it won't awaken you, for you'll say, "It's nothing new,
It's another blessed horse fell down."

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Type of Poem: Ballad

Date Written:

Date Published:

Language: English

Keywords: Public Domain

Source: Public Domain Collection

Publisher:

Rights/Permissions: Public Domain

Comments/Notes: This poem employs a concrete narrative, rich in both imagery and auditory experiences, to explore themes of war, desensitization, and the long-lasting impacts of trauma. The repeated phrase, "There's another blessed horse fell down," serves as a refrain that underscores the situation's repetitiveness and the speaker's growing numbness to calamity.

The setting is established with vivid sensory details, such as the noise of engines, the clatter on the deck, and the corporal's shout. The tone is one of resignation and weary acceptance, which is reflected in the casual, conversational language and the speaker's dark humor. The poem's structure, with its rhymed quatrains, lends a rhythmic, almost song-like quality to the narrative, contrasting starkly with the grim realities it presents.

In the final stanza, the speaker's desensitization is fully realized as even the distressing event of a wife falling down the stairs is equated to "another blessed horse" falling. This highlights the all-pervasive influence of war on the speaker's perception of the world - a poignant commentary on the enduring psychological scars left by conflict. The use of metaphor, repetition, and casual, colloquial language make this poem a powerful exploration of the human capacity for resilience, and the cost such resilience often entails.