The same as the Jollies-'Er Majesty's Jollies

soldier an' sailor too!

They come of our lot, they was brothers to us; they was beggars we'd met an' knew;

Yes, barrin' an inch in the chest an' the arm, they was doubles o' me an' you;

For they weren't no special chrysanthemums-soldier an' sailor too!

To take your chance in the thick of a rush, with firing all about,

Is nothing so bad when you've cover to 'and, an'

leave an' likin' to shout;

But to stand an' be still to the Birken'ead drill is a

damn tough bullet to chew,

An' they done it, the Jollies-'Er Majesty's Jolliessoldier an' sailor too!

Their work was done when it 'adn't begun; they was

younger nor me an' you;

Their choice it was plain between drownin' in 'eaps an' bein' mopped by the screw,

So they stood an' was still to the Birken'ead drill, soldier an' sailor too!

We're most of us liars, we're 'arf of us thieves, an'

the rest are as rank as can be,

But once in a while we can finish in style (which I 'ope it won't 'appen to me).

But it makes you think better o' you an' your friends, an' the work you may 'ave to do,

When you think o' the sinkin' Victorier's Jolliessoldier an' sailor too!

Now there isn't no room for to say ye don't knowthey 'ave proved it plain and true

That whether it's Widow, or whether it's ship, Victorier's work is to do,

An' they done it, the Jollies-'Er Majesty's Jolliessoldier an' sailor too!

SAPPERS

WHEN the Waters were dried an' the Earth did

appear,

("It's all one," says the Sapper), The Lord He created the Engineer, Her Majesty's Royal Engineer,

With the rank and pay of a Sapper!

When the Flood come along for an extra monsoon, 'Twas Noah constructed the first pontoon

To the plans of Her Majesty's, etc.

But after fatigue in the wet an' the sun,

Old Noah got drunk, which he wouldn't ha' done

If he'd trained with, etc.

When the Tower o' Babel had mixed up men's bat, Some clever civilian was managing that,

An' none of, etc.

When the Jews had a fight at the foot of a hill,
Young Joshua ordered the sun to stand still,
For he was a Captain of Engineers, etc.

When the Children of Israel made bricks without

straw,

They were learnin' the regular work of our Corps, The work of, etc.

For ever since then, if a war they would wage,
Behold us a-shinin' on history's page—

First page for, etc.

We lay down their sidings an' help 'em entrain, An' we sweep up their mess through the bloomin' campaign,

In the style of, etc.

They send us in front with a fuse an' a mine

To blow up the gates that are rushed by the Line, But bent by, etc.

They send us behind with a pick an' a spade,
To dig for the guns of a bullock-brigade
Which has asked for, etc.

We work under escort in trousers and shirt,
An' the heathen they plug us tail-up in the dirt,
Annoying, etc.

We blast out the rock an' we shovel the mud,

We make 'em good roads an'-they roll down the

khud, Reporting, etc.

We make 'em their bridges, their wells, an' their huts, An' the telegraph-wire the enemy cuts,

An' it's blamed on, etc.

An' when we return, an' from war we would cease, They grudge us adornin' the billets of peace, Which are kept for, etc.

We build 'em nice barracks-they swear they are
bad,

That our Colonels are Methodist, married or mad,
Insultin', etc.

They haven't no manners nor gratitude too,

For the more that we help 'em, the less will they do, But mock at, etc.

Now the Line's but a man with a gun in his hand,
An' Cavalry's only what horses can stand,

When helped by, etc.

Artillery moves by the leave o' the ground,
But we are the men that do something all round,
For we are, etc.

I have stated it plain, an' my argument's thus ("It's all one," says the Sapper),

There's only one Corps which is perfect-that's us; An' they call us Her Majesty's Engineers,

Her Majesty's Royal Engineers,

With the rank and pay of a Sapper!