Soldier, Soldier

By Rudyard Kipling

Ballad
"Soldier, soldier come from the wars, Why don't you march with my true love?" "We're fresh from off the ship an' 'e's maybe give the slip, An' you'd best go look for a new love." New love! True love! Best go look for a new love, The dead they cannot rise, an' you'd better dry your eyes, An' you'd best go look for a new love. "Soldier, soldier come from the wars, What did you see o' my true love?" "I seed 'im serve the Queen in a suit o' rifle-green, An' you'd best go look for a new love." "Soldier, soldier come from the wars, Did ye see no more o' my true love?" "I seed 'im runnin' by when the shots begun to fly, But you'd best go look for a new love." "Soldier, soldier come from the wars, Did aught take 'arm to my true love?" "I couldn't see the fight, for the smoke it lay so white, An' you'd best go look for a new love." "Soldier, soldier come from the wars, I'll up an' tend to my true love!" "'E's lying on the dead with a bullet through 'is 'ead, An' you'd best go look for a new love." "Soldier, soldier come from the wars, I'll down an' die with my true love!" "The pit we dug'll 'ide 'im an' the twenty men beside 'im, An' you'd best go look for a new love." "Soldier, soldier come from the wars, Do you bring no sign from my true love?" "I bring a lock of 'air that 'e allus used to wear, An' you'd best go look for a new love." "Soldier, soldier come from the wars, O then I know it's true I've lost my true love!" "An' I tell you truth again, when you've lost the feel o' pain You'd best take me for your true love." True love! New love! Best take 'im for a new love, The dead they cannot rise, an' you'd better dry your eyes, An' you'd best take 'im for your true love.

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Poem Details

Language: English
Keywords: Public Domain
Source: Public Domain Collection
Rights/Permissions: Public Domain
Analysis & Notes:
This poignant poem is a heartbreaking exploration of love and loss set against the backdrop of war. The dialogue between a questioning, desperate lover and a stoic soldier provides the thematic structure, while the repeated refrain "you'd best go look for a new love" drives home the inevitability and reality of death in conflict.

The themes of the poem are deeply emotional, focusing on the sorrow, grief, and harsh truth of losing a loved one in war. The tone is deeply somber and realistic, with the soldier's answers growing progressively more blunt and final, mirroring the harsh reality of war. The structure is consistent, with each stanza following a question-answer-refrain pattern, creating a rhythmic and relentless pace that mimics the unending cycle of war and death.

Standout literary devices include the use of repetition and dialogue. Repetition is used to reinforce the painful inevitability of the lover's loss and the need to move on. Meanwhile, the dialogue creates a stark contrast between the raw pain of the lover and the soldier's detached pragmatism, reflecting the gulf between those on the battlefield and those left at home. The soldier's blunt language and the lover's emotional responses underscore this divide.

Overall, the poem is a powerful commentary on the human cost of war, exploring the personal grief and pain that is often overshadowed by larger narratives of victory or defeat. It serves as a reminder of the individual stories and heartbreaks hidden behind the faceless statistics of war casualties.

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.