I hate colonialism.

[urbancohort]

The desert sand is sodden red
Red with the blood of a square that broke
And the gatling's jammed and the colonel's dead
The river of death has brimmed its banks
And England's far and 'honour' a name
When the voice of the schoolboy steadies the ranks:
"Play up! Play up! And play the game!"

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[urbancohort]

Give 'em the cold steel! Remember they don't like it up 'em Captain Mainwaring!

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[FierceKitty]

A bit missing there....

[cameronian]

A bit missing there....

Exactly what I was thinking, something about smoke ... hang on ... And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.

[grahambeyrout]

Newbolt's poem actually starts with a much more pastoral image, that I find very evocative, but perhaps because I was always found myself roped in to make up the team even though I was hopeless at cricket. Invariably I was last in, and no I never neither reached double figures nor lasted more than three overs.

There's a breathless hush in the Close to-night—
Ten to make and the match to win—
A bumping pitch and a blinding light,
An hour to play and the last man in.

[toxicpixie]

A slight diversion of lyrics...

"The natives are restless tonight, sir
Cooped up on estates with no hope in sight
They need some kind of distraction
We can give them that
'Cause they'd kill if they only had something to kill for
They'd die if they only had something to die for
They'd cheer if they only had something to cheer for
We can give them that
So it's off to war we go (I couldn't believe it)
Bring out all the flags (I never believed it)
Fight the good fight "

[d_Guy]

Not specifically on-topic but:

    Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
    Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
    The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
    The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
    The best lack all conviction, while the worst
    Are full of passionate intensity.

[toxicpixie]

Splendid!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=59TiUxX-F1U

[Ithoriel]

Excerpt from Billy Joel's "Angry Young Man"

"I believe I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage
I found that just surviving was a noble fight
I once believed in causes too
I had my pointless point of view
And life went on no matter who was wrong or right

And there's always a place for the angry young man
With his fist in the air and his head in the sand
And he's never been able to learn from mistakes
So he can't understand why his heart always breaks
But his honor is pure and his courage as well
And he's fair and he's true and he's boring as hell
And he'll go to the grave as an angry old man"

[toxicpixie]

I was older then, but I'm younger than that now