Screw-Guns

By Rudyard Kipling

Ballad
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin' cool, I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule, With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets, 'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns, the screw-guns they all love you! So when we call round with a few guns, o' course you will know what to do, hoo! hoo! Jest send in your Chief an' surrender, it's worse if you fights or you runs: You can go where you please, you can skid up the trees, but you don't get away from the guns! They sends us along where the roads are, but mostly we goes where they ain't: We'd climb up the side of a sign-board an' trust to the stick o' the paint: We've chivied the Naga an' Looshai, we've give the Afreedeeman fits, For we fancies ourselves at two thousand, we guns that are built in two bits, 'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns . . . If a man doesn't work, why, we drills 'im an' teaches 'im 'ow to behave; If a beggar can't march, why, we kills 'im an' rattles 'im into 'is grave. You've got to stand up to our business an' spring without snatchin' or fuss. D'you say that you sweat with the field-guns? By God, you must lather with us, 'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns . . . The eagles is screamin' around us, the river's a-moanin' below, We're clear o' the pine an' the oak-scrub, we're out on the rocks an' the snow, An' the wind is as thin as a whip-lash what carries away to the plains The rattle an' stamp o' the lead-mules, the jinglety-jink o' the chains, 'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns . . . There's a wheel on the Horns o' the Mornin', an' a wheel on the edge o' the Pit, An' a drop into nothin' beneath you as straight as a beggar can spit: With the sweat runnin' out o' your shirt-sleeves, an' the sun off the snow in your face, An' 'arf o' the men on the drag-ropes to hold the old gun in 'er place, 'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns . . . Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin' cool, I climbs in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule. The monkey can say what our road was, the wild-goat 'e knows where we passed. Stand easy, you long-eared old darlin's! Out drag-ropes! With shrapnel! Hold fast, 'Tss! 'Tss! For you all love the screw-guns, the screw-guns they all love you! So when we take tea with a few guns, o' course you will know what to do, hoo! hoo! Jest send in your Chief an' surrender, it's worse if you fights or you runs: You may hide in the caves, they'll be only your graves, but you can't get away from the guns!

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Poem Details

Language: English
Keywords: Public Domain
Source: Public Domain Collection
Rights/Permissions: Public Domain
Analysis & Notes:
Rudyard Kipling’s "Screw-Guns" is a Rough Soldier's Ballad that glorifies the rugged, unbreakable spirit of the men who manned the screw-guns—small, portable artillery pieces designed for mountainous campaigns in India and Afghanistan. It is at once an energetic, swaggering tribute to military grit and a vivid portrait of the brutal realities of frontier warfare. The poem’s central theme is the essential, unrelenting role of the humble mountain artillery unit: wherever the infantry and cavalry cannot go, the screw-gunners can—and they bring death with them, no matter the terrain.

The tone is earthy, proud, and exuberant, capturing the raw physicality and camaraderie of the gunners and their mule teams. Kipling writes in the voice of a veteran sapper or artilleryman, using cockney-flavored speech and rhythmic repetition ("’Tss! ’Tss!") to mimic the cadence of the soldier’s life and march. The structure is repetitive and musical, almost like a work song or chant, reinforcing the idea that the screw-gunners' work is backbreaking, endless, and yet oddly joyful in its toughness.

Imagery throughout the poem is immediate and physical: painted signboards for trails, whiplash-thin winds, men dragging ropes at the edge of cliffs, rivers moaning below, chains jangling as mules haul disassembled guns over impossible slopes. Kipling makes it clear that screw-gunners operate where others cannot survive, and that surrender is inevitable once the guns are in position. The cheerful brutality ("If a beggar can't march, why, we kills 'im") underscores both the pitiless demands of their job and the pragmatic fatalism required to endure it.

Ultimately, "Screw-Guns" is a kinetic celebration of dogged courage and the unglamorous, hard-as-iron men who make military success possible not with speeches or banners, but with sweat, brute strength, and constant danger. It exalts a small corps of soldiers whose strength lies not in glory but in tireless, anonymous mastery of their terrible craft.

Understanding Ballads

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music, that has been a cornerstone of storytelling across various cultures. Traditionally passed down orally, ballads are known for their rhythmic structure and often tell tales of love, adventure, and heroism.

Ballads are characterized by their strong rhythm and repetition, making them both memorable and engaging. Here are some defining features:

  • Narrative Structure: Ballads typically tell a story, often a dramatic or emotional tale that unfolds in a straightforward, chronological order.
  • Quatrain Stanzas: Most ballads are composed of quatrains (four-line stanzas) with a rhyme scheme of ABAB or ABCB, which adds to the musicality of the verse.
  • Repetition: Refrains or repeated lines are common in ballads, helping to emphasize key themes or emotions and making the ballad easier to remember.
  • Oral Tradition: Many ballads originated from oral traditions, which means they were passed down through generations by word of mouth before being written down.

From medieval minstrels to contemporary songwriters, ballads have continued to evolve, remaining a beloved form of expression that captures the human experience in a way that is both poetic and accessible.