{"id":439,"date":"2014-06-19T18:13:33","date_gmt":"2014-06-19T18:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/?post_type=chapter&p=439"},"modified":"2014-09-26T18:54:39","modified_gmt":"2014-09-26T18:54:39","slug":"fuzzy-wuzzy","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/chapter\/fuzzy-wuzzy\/","title":{"raw":"Fuzzy-Wuzzy","rendered":"Fuzzy-Wuzzy"},"content":{"raw":"Soudan Expeditionary force. Early campaign\r\n\r\nWe've fought with many men acrost the seas,\r\nAn' some of 'em was brave an' some was not.\r\nThe Paythan[footnote]Pathans, people on the northwest frontier of India.[\/footnote]\u00a0an' the Zulu an' Burmese;\r\nBut the Fuzzy[footnote]Sudanese followers of the Mahdi, so called because of their frizzled hair (Durand, Ralph. A Handbook to the Poetry of Rudyard Kipling<\/em> [London: 1914]).[\/footnote]\u00a0was the finest o' the lot.\r\nWe never got a ha\u2019porth\u2019s[footnote]A halfpenny\u2019s worth.[\/footnote]\u00a0change of 'im:\r\n'E squatted in the scrub an' 'ocked our 'orses,\r\n'E cut our sentries up at Suakim[footnote]A port in northeast Sudan on the Red Sea, it was the headquarters of British and Egyptian troops operating in the eastern Sudan against the dervishes in 1884 (Durand, 22).[\/footnote],\r\nAn' 'e played the cat an' banjo with our forces.\r\nSo 'ere's to<\/em> you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan;\r\nYou're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man;\r\nWe gives you your certificate, an' if you want it signed\r\nWe'll come an' 'ave a romp with you whenever you're inclined.\r\n\r\nWe took our chanst among the Kyber\u2019ills[footnote]Khyber Mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan.[\/footnote],\r\nThe Boers[footnote]Dutch-speaking settlers in South Africa who fought against the British in the Boer Wars.[\/footnote]\u00a0knocked us silly at a mile,\r\nThe Burman give us Irriwady chills[footnote]In the Burmese campaign, the British forces came down with malaria near the Irrawady River.[\/footnote],\r\nAn' a Zulu impi<\/em>[footnote]A regiment of the Zulus, a Bantu ethnic group in South Africa.[\/footnote]\u00a0dished us up in style:\r\nBut all we ever got from such as they\r\nWas pop[footnote]Ginger beer.[\/footnote]\u00a0to what the Fuzzy made us swaller[footnote]Swallow.[\/footnote];\r\nWe 'eld our bloomin' own, the papers say,\r\nBut man for man the Fuzzy knocked us 'oller.\r\nThen 'ere's to<\/em> you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, an' the missis and the kid;\r\nOur orders was to break you, an' of course we went an' did.\r\nWe sloshed you with Martinis[footnote]A rifle in general use in the British Army from 1871-1888.[\/footnote], an' it wasn't 'ardly fair;\r\nBut for all the odds agin' you, Fuzzy-Wuz, you broke the square[footnote]In 1884, near Tamai, the Sudanese army broke into the first British brigade square (a formation of soldiers) and \u201ctemporarily captured the naval guns\u201d (Durand, 23).[\/footnote].\r\n\r\n'E 'asn't got no papers of 'is own,\r\n'E 'asn't got no medals nor rewards,\r\nSo we must certify the skill 'e's shown\r\nIn usin' of 'is long two-\u2018anded swords:\r\nWhen 'e's 'oppin' in an' out among the bush\r\nWith 'is coffin-'eaded shield an' shovel-spear,\r\nAn 'appy day with Fuzzy on the rush\r\nWill last an 'ealthy Tommy[footnote]Colloquial term for a British soldier.[\/footnote]\u00a0for a year.\r\nSo 'ere's to<\/em> you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, an' your friends which are no more,\r\nIf we 'adn't lost some messmates we would 'elp you to deplore;\r\nBut give an' take's the gospel, an' we'll call the bargain fair,\r\nFor if you 'ave lost more than us, you crumpled up the square!\r\n\r\n'E rushes at the smoke when we let drive,\r\nAn', before we know, 'e's 'ackin' at our 'ead;\r\n'E's all 'ot sand an' ginger when alive,\r\nAn' 'e's generally shammin'[footnote]Pretending.[\/footnote]\u00a0when 'e's dead.\r\n'E's a daisy[footnote]Good fellow.[\/footnote], 'e's a ducky[footnote]Nice chap.[\/footnote], 'e's a lamb[footnote]Darling.[\/footnote]!\r\n'E's a injia-rubber idiot on the spree[footnote]A drunken binge.[\/footnote],\r\n'E's the on'y thing that doesn't give a damn\r\nFor a Regiment o' British Infantree!\r\nSo 'ere's to<\/em> you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan;\r\nYou're a pore benighted 'eathen, but a first-class fightin' man;\r\nAn' 'ere's to<\/em> you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with your 'ayrick 'ead of 'air\u2014\r\nYou big black boundin' beggar\u2014for you broke a British square!\r\n\r\n\u20141892.\r\n\r\n[The editor is indebted to Representative Poetry<\/em>, ed. Ian Lancashire for many of the notes to this poem].","rendered":"

Soudan Expeditionary force. Early campaign<\/p>\n

We’ve fought with many men acrost the seas,
\nAn’ some of ’em was brave an’ some was not.
\nThe Paythan[1]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0an’ the Zulu an’ Burmese;
\nBut the Fuzzy[2]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0was the finest o’ the lot.
\nWe never got a ha\u2019porth\u2019s[3]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0change of ‘im:
\n‘E squatted in the scrub an’ ‘ocked our ‘orses,
\n‘E cut our sentries up at Suakim[4]<\/sup><\/a>,
\nAn’ ‘e played the cat an’ banjo with our forces.
\nSo ‘ere’s to<\/em> you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your ‘ome in the Soudan;
\nYou’re a pore benighted ‘eathen but a first-class fightin’ man;
\nWe gives you your certificate, an’ if you want it signed
\nWe’ll come an’ ‘ave a romp with you whenever you’re inclined.<\/p>\n

We took our chanst among the Kyber\u2019ills[5]<\/sup><\/a>,
\nThe Boers[6]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0knocked us silly at a mile,
\nThe Burman give us Irriwady chills[7]<\/sup><\/a>,
\nAn’ a Zulu impi<\/em>[8]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0dished us up in style:
\nBut all we ever got from such as they
\nWas pop[9]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0to what the Fuzzy made us swaller[10]<\/sup><\/a>;
\nWe ‘eld our bloomin’ own, the papers say,
\nBut man for man the Fuzzy knocked us ‘oller.
\nThen ‘ere’s to<\/em> you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, an’ the missis and the kid;
\nOur orders was to break you, an’ of course we went an’ did.
\nWe sloshed you with Martinis[11]<\/sup><\/a>, an’ it wasn’t ‘ardly fair;
\nBut for all the odds agin’ you, Fuzzy-Wuz, you broke the square[12]<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n

‘E ‘asn’t got no papers of ‘is own,
\n‘E ‘asn’t got no medals nor rewards,
\nSo we must certify the skill ‘e’s shown
\nIn usin’ of ‘is long two-\u2018anded swords:
\nWhen ‘e’s ‘oppin’ in an’ out among the bush
\nWith ‘is coffin-‘eaded shield an’ shovel-spear,
\nAn ‘appy day with Fuzzy on the rush
\nWill last an ‘ealthy Tommy[13]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0for a year.
\nSo ‘ere’s to<\/em> you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, an’ your friends which are no more,
\nIf we ‘adn’t lost some messmates we would ‘elp you to deplore;
\nBut give an’ take’s the gospel, an’ we’ll call the bargain fair,
\nFor if you ‘ave lost more than us, you crumpled up the square!<\/p>\n

‘E rushes at the smoke when we let drive,
\nAn’, before we know, ‘e’s ‘ackin’ at our ‘ead;
\n‘E’s all ‘ot sand an’ ginger when alive,
\nAn’ ‘e’s generally shammin’[14]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0when ‘e’s dead.
\n‘E’s a daisy[15]<\/sup><\/a>, ‘e’s a ducky[16]<\/sup><\/a>, ‘e’s a lamb[17]<\/sup><\/a>!
\n‘E’s a injia-rubber idiot on the spree[18]<\/sup><\/a>,
\n‘E’s the on’y thing that doesn’t give a damn
\nFor a Regiment o’ British Infantree!
\nSo ‘ere’s to<\/em> you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your ‘ome in the Soudan;
\nYou’re a pore benighted ‘eathen, but a first-class fightin’ man;
\nAn’ ‘ere’s to<\/em> you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with your ‘ayrick ‘ead of ‘air\u2014
\nYou big black boundin’ beggar\u2014for you broke a British square!<\/p>\n

\u20141892.<\/p>\n

[The editor is indebted to Representative Poetry<\/em>, ed. Ian Lancashire for many of the notes to this poem].<\/p>\n

  1. Pathans, people on the northwest frontier of India. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  2. Sudanese followers of the Mahdi, so called because of their frizzled hair (Durand, Ralph. A Handbook to the Poetry of Rudyard Kipling<\/em> [London: 1914]). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  3. A halfpenny\u2019s worth. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  4. A port in northeast Sudan on the Red Sea, it was the headquarters of British and Egyptian troops operating in the eastern Sudan against the dervishes in 1884 (Durand, 22). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  5. Khyber Mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  6. Dutch-speaking settlers in South Africa who fought against the British in the Boer Wars. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  7. In the Burmese campaign, the British forces came down with malaria near the Irrawady River. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  8. A regiment of the Zulus, a Bantu ethnic group in South Africa. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  9. Ginger beer. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  10. Swallow. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  11. A rifle in general use in the British Army from 1871-1888. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  12. In 1884, near Tamai, the Sudanese army broke into the first British brigade square (a formation of soldiers) and \u201ctemporarily captured the naval guns\u201d (Durand, 23). ↵<\/a><\/li>
  13. Colloquial term for a British soldier. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  14. Pretending. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  15. Good fellow. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  16. Nice chap. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  17. Darling. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  18. A drunken binge. ↵<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":17,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["rudyard-kipling"],"pb_section_license":"public-domain"},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[65],"license":[78],"class_list":["post-439","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","contributor-rudyard-kipling","license-public-domain"],"part":437,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1889,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/439\/revisions\/1889"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/437"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/439\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=439"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=439"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/englishliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}