Riding Round the Lines
Dust and smoke against the sunrise out where grim disaster lurks
And a broken sky-line looming like unfinished railway works,
And a trot, trot, trot and canter down inside the belt of mines:
It is General Greybeard Shrapnel who is riding round his lines.
And the scarecrows from the trenches, haggard eyes and hollow cheeks,
War-stained uniforms and ragged that have not been off for weeks;
They salute him and they cheer him and they watch his face for signs;
Ah! they try to read old Greybeard while he’s riding round the lines.
There’s a crack, crack, crack and rattle; there’s a thud and there’s a crash;
In the battery over yonder there is something gone to smash,
Then a hush and sudden movement, and its meaning he divines,
And he patches up a blunder while he’s riding round his lines.
Pushing this position forward, bringing that position back,
While his officers, with orders, ride like hell down hell’s own track;
Making hay—and to what purpose?—while his sun of winter shines,
But his work is just beginning when he’s ridden round his lines.
There are fifty thousand rifles and a hundred batteries
All a-playing battle music, with his fingers on the keys,
And if for an hour, exhausted, on his camp bed he reclines,
In his mind he still is riding—he is riding round his lines.
He’s the brains of fifty thousand, blundering at their country’s call;
He’s the one hope of his nation, and the loneliest man of all;
He is flesh and blood and human, though he never shews the signs:
He is General Greybeard Shrapnel who is fixing up his lines.
It is thankless work and weary, and, for all his neighbour knows,
He may sometimes feel as if he doesn’t half care how it goes;
But for all that can be gathered from his eyes of steely blue
He might be a great contractor who has some big job to do.
There’s the son who died in action—it may be a week ago;
There’s the wife and other troubles that most men have got to know—
(And we’ll say the grey-haired mother underneath the porch of vines):
Does he ever think of these things while he’s riding round his lines?
He is bossed by bitter boobies who can never understand;
He is hampered by the asses and the robbers of the land,
And I feel inclined to wonder what his own opinions are
Of the Government, the country, of the war and of the Czar.
He’s the same when he’s advancing, he’s the same in grim retreat;
For he wears one mask in triumph and the same mask in defeat;
Of the brave he is the bravest, he is strongest of the strong:
General Greybeard Shrapnel never shows that anything is wrong.
But we each and all are lonely, and we have our work to do;
We must fight for wife and children or our country and our screw
In the everlasting struggle to the end that fate destines;
In the war that men call living we are riding round our lines.
I ride round my last defences, where the bitter jibes are flung,
I am patching up the blunders that I made when I was young,
And I may be digging pitfalls and I may be laying mines;
For I sometimes feel like Shrapnel while I’m riding round my lines.
poem by Henry Lawson
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Related quotes
On A Carousel
The Hollies
On A Carousel
(Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks & Graham Nash)
Single release 1967
Riding along on a carousel,
tryin' to catch up to you
Riding along on a carousel,
will I catch up to you?
Horses chasing
'cause they're racing
So they ain't so far
On a carousel
On a carousel
Nearer and nearer by changing horses,
still so far away
People fighting for their places
just get in my way
Soon you'll leave and then I'll lose you,
still we're going round
On a carousel,
On a carousel
Round and round and round and round and
round and round and round and round with you
Up, down, up, down, up, down, too
As she leaves, she drops the presents
that she won before
Pulling ducks out of the water,
got the highest score
Now's my chance and I must take it,
a case of do-or-die
On a carousel
On a carousel
Round and round and round and round and
round and round and round and round with you
Up, down, up, down, up, down, too
Riding along on a carousel,
trying to catch up to you
Riding along on a carousel,
will I catch up to you?
Now we take our ride together
No more chasing her
On a carousel
On a carousel
On a carousel
{fade out}
On a carousel
On a carousel...
song performed by by Hollies
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Riding In A Circle
I keep...
Riding in a circle.
I keep...
Repeating those,
Same old lines.
I keep...
Riding in a circle.
Wanting to find,
Reasons for the rhyme
What am I trying to pick up?
And what am I trying to find?
Could it be,
The reason for the rhyme?
And the reason I'm riding this merry-go-round,
Out of mind.
I keep...
Riding in a circle.
I keep...
Repeating those,
Same old lines.
I keep...
Riding in a circle.
Wanting to find,
Reasons for the rhyme
What am I trying to pick up?
And what am I trying to find?
Could it be...
The reason for the rhyme?
And the reason I'm riding this merry-go-round,
Out of mind.
And the reason I'm riding this merry-go-round,
Out of mind.
I keep...
Riding in a circle.
And the reason I'm riding this merry-go-round,
Out of mind.
I keep...
Riding in a circle.
And the reason I'm riding this merry-go-round,
Out of mind.
I keep...
Riding in a circle.
And the reason I'm riding this merry-go-round,
Out of mind.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Fugue For The Fox
Call happy calling children are falling
In line to ride on the merry-go-round
People are passing children are laughing
They want to ride on the merry-go-round
Doesn't matter when you came
Every ride is just the same
Do not worry how it's done
There is room for everyone
Carousel turning children are yearning
To ride it forever and never come down
Little one's singing older one's clinging
Everyone riding the merry-go-round
Go round and round and up and down
Round and round they go always reaching for the ring of gold
Never knowing when the music's over they will be old
Call happy calling children are falling
In line to ride on the merry-go-round
People are passing children are laughing
They want to ride on the merry-go-round
Sometimes up and sometimes down
Don't let your feet ever touch the ground
Sometimes right and sometimes wrong
You'll end up where you belong
Sound of their laughter makes the ride faster
Soon the circus stand must come down
Music grows nowhere the ride is over
Say goodbye to the merry-go-round
song performed by by Emmylou Harris
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lichtenberg
(New South Wales Contingent)
Smells are surer than sounds or sights
To make your heart-strings crack--
They start those awful voices o' nights
That whisper, " Old man, come back! "
That must be why the big things pass
And the little things remain,
Like the smell of the wattle by Lichtenberg,
Riding in, in the rain.
There was some silly fire on the flank
And the small wet drizzling down--
There were the sold-out shops and the bank
And the wet, wide-open town;
And we were doing escort-duty
To somebody's baggage-train,
And I smelt wattle by Lichtenberg--
Riding in, in the rain.
It was all Australia to me--
All I had found or missed:
Every face I was crazy to see,
And every woman I'd kissed:
All that I should n't ha' done, God knows!
(As He knows I'll do it again),
That smell of the wattle round Lichtenberg,
Riding in, in the rain!
And I saw Sydney the same as ever,
The picnics and brass-bands;
And my little homestead on Hunter River
And my new vines joining hands.
It all came over me in one act
Quick as a shot through the brain--
With the smell of the wattle round Lichtenberg,
Riding in, in the rain.
I have forgotten a hundred fights,
But one I shall not forget--
With the raindrops bunging up my sights
And my eyes bunged up with wet;
And through the crack and the stink of the cordite
(Ah Christ! My country again!)
The smell of the wattle by Lichtenberg,
Riding in, in the rain!
poem by Rudyard Kipling
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Riding
IF I should live again,
O God, let me be young,
Quick of sinew and vein
With the honeycomb on my tongue,
All in a moment flung
With the dawn on a flowing plain,
Riding, riding, riding, riding
Between the sun and the rain.
If I, having been, must be,
O God, let it be so,
Swift and supple and free
With a long journey to go,
And the clink of the curb and the blow
Of hooves, and the wind at my knee,
Riding, riding, riding, riding
Between the hills and the sea.
poem by Marjorie Lowry Christie Pickthall
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126
izza on a merry-go-round
izza is my my niece
she rides on a merry-go-round
at the carnival
today
before riding it
however
she raises her eyebrow
puzzled
whether to ride
or not to ride
thinking that
if all these horses
run in circles
it will not
be arriving at any place
pointless
futile
on the other hand
all the other cousins
her age
are riding
and she too must ride it
for fifteen minutes
i see
she is enjoying every minute
of the ride
she finally decides to
mount herself
like the rest
waiving her hand
to her mother
taking pictures
on her first ride
on the merry go round
when it ends
she dismounts
at last
i ask her
how does it feel
to ride
in circles
she says
'it is so wonderful'
she claps her hands
and i tell her
'good! '
in silence
i could have told her this,
izza
that is what life is all about
a merry go round
where
we are all children
enjoying our ride
in circles
arriving at nowhere
arriving at no ends
and
your mother is
just like God
taking the pictures
of us waiving
our hands with joy
the joy of life
that joy
on that merry go round
too short
for fifteen minutes......
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Im Not The One
Im not the one
That youll be shootin for
Im not the one
Whos coming back for more
(you know why)
Weve been through this so many a-times
(you know why)
Its never clear its pantomime
Goin round and round
(round and round)
cause you cant get on your feet
Goin round and round
(round and round)
Still takin all the heat
Goin round and round
(round and round)
Never lettin down
Im not the one
Whose memory you still keepin
Im not the one
Whos talkin in your sleep
(you know why)
I dont have to tell you twice
(you know why)
Knew you when you werent so nice
Goin round and round
(round and round)
cause you cant get on your feet
Goin round and round
(round and round)
Still takin all the heat
Goin round and round
(round and round)
Never touchin down
Im not the one
That youll be breakin in
And Im not the one
That youll be takin in
(you know why)
Tried and tried to crack the shell
(you know why)
When you fake its hard to tell
Goin round and round
(round and round)
cause you cant get on your feet
Goin round and round
(round and round)
Still takin all the heat
Goin round and round
(round and round)
cause you cant get on your feet
Goin round and round
(round and round)
Still takin all the heat
Goin round and round
(round and round)
(round and round)
Goin round and round
(round and round)
(round and round and round and round)
Goin round and round
(round and round)
(cause you cant get on your feet)
Goin (round and round)
(still takin all the heat)
(round and round)
(cause you cant get on your feet)
(round and round)
(still takin all the heat)
(round and round)
(cause you cant get on your feet)
(round and round)
(still takin all the heat)
[fade]
song performed by by Cars
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Izza On A Merry-go-round
izza is my my niece
she rides on a merry-go-round
at the carnival
today
before riding it
however
she raises her eyebrow
puzzled
whether to ride
or not to ride
thinking that
if all these horses
run in circles
it will not
be arriving at any place
pointless
futile
on the other hand
all the other cousins
her age
are riding
and she too must ride it
for fifteen minutes
i see
she is enjoying every minute
of the ride
she finally decides to
mount herself
like the rest
waiving her hand
to her mother
taking pictures
on her first ride
on the merry go round
when it ends
she dismounts
at last
i ask her
how does it feel
to ride
in circles
she says
'it is so wonderful'
she claps her hands
and i tell her
'good! '
in silence
i could have told her this,
izza
that is what life is all about
a merry go round
where
we are all children
enjoying our ride
in circles
arriving at nowhere
arriving at no ends
and
your mother is
just like God
taking the pictures
of us waiving
our hands with joy
the joy of life
that joy
on that merry go round
too short
for fifteen minutes......
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Rough God Goes Riding
Oh the mud splattered victims
Have to pay out all along the ancient highway
Torn between half truth and victimisation
Fighting back with counter attacks
Its when that rough God goes riding
When the rough God goes gliding
And then rough God goes riding
Riding on in
I was flabbergasted by the headlines
People in glasshouses throwing stones
Gaping wounds that will never heal
Now theyre moaning like a dog in a manger
Its when that rough God goes riding
And then the rough God goes gliding
Therell be nobody hiding
When that rough God comes riding on in
And its a matter of survival
When youre born with your back against the wall
Wont somebody hand me a bible
Wont you give me that number to call
When that rough God goed riding
And then that rough God goes gliding
Theyll be nobody hiding
When that rough God goes riding on in
Riding on in
When that rough God goed riding
When that rough God goes gliding
Therell be nobody hiding
When that rough God goes riding on in
Riding on in
Therell be no more heroes
Theyll be reduced to zero
When that rough God goes riding
Riding on in
Riding on in
Riding on in
Riding on in
song performed by by Van Morrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Day By Day
Day by day - look what the papers say
Day by day - look what the papers say
Stranded in the jungle
Trapped inside the tube
[you] hate your next door neighbour
Cos hes got more than you
Going round and round / day by day
On the cirlce line
Round and round
Day by day - its all work no play
Day by day - its all work no play
Living for inflation
I know I never win
Just to earn a living
They keep me locked in
Day by day - who cares anyway
Day by day - who cares anyway
I feel like a robot
On the production line
Aint got no tomorrow
On the circle line
Going round and round / day by day
On the circle line
Round and round
Round and round
Day by day
Day by day
song performed by by Billy Idol
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In Between The Lines
In between the lines
as we go about our lives
we often seem to think
no one loves no one cares
In between the lines
we drag our weary feet
and often think who cares
and shuffles mindless
to the beat
In between the lines
we search for gloom & doom
we come up with outrageous stories
that we plant between the lines
In between the lines
we throw caution to the wind
making out the lies
to be a bitter truth
so just bare in mind
what’s just been said
we always learn life’s mystery’s
in between the lines
poem by Kaila George
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A Bicycle Poem
do not worry how the bicycle looks
ride it.
do not think how the wheel and its
spokes work
do not attempt to understand its structure
ride it.
do not think how the other people looks at
you with your bicycle
just ride it.
when you are riding it already
just feel the joy of the air that meets your face
the speed by which it takes you
to another destination
just ride it, disembark when you get there
you do not even have to own it and keep it for the rest of your life
when you get old
remember that bicycle that once gave you all the joys of riding
before you die
give it to the young
they shall have their own joys too
riding it
and perhaps they will write a poem about you
or if not
about the bicycle at least
who knows?
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Round And Round And Round
round and round and round and round and round we go
trying so hard to get a hold of everyone here
we've got to show how much we love them all
we squeak with idiot fake surprise
flap our hands and flutter our eyes
and lap up all their stupid lies
we've got to love them all
and I really don't know why we do it like this
imitation smiles and how 'it's wonderful to be her
i'm really not sure what we're so scared we'll mis
so round and round and round and round and round we go
hanging on every shape they throw
it's strange the way we can't say no
until we love them all...
so we laugh at every stupid joke
and smoke and choke and point and poke
and gag on countless lines...
how much we love them all!
and I really don't know why we do it like this
imitation smiles and how 'it's wonderful to be her
i'm really not sure what we're so scared we'll mis
maybe it's the sex with the drugs and the fools
or maybe it's the promise of belief?
maybe it's the pleasure and the pain of the cruel
or maybe it's the promise of relief?
and I know that we've said it so many times
'once more and never again'
but however many times that we've said it before
once more is never the end...
song performed by by Cure
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Round & Round & Round
Round and round and round and round and round we go
Trying so hard to get a hold of everyone here
We've got to show how much we love them all
We squeak with idiot fake surprise
Flap our hands and flutter our eyes
And lap up all their stupid lies
We've got to love them all
And i really don't know why we do it like this
Imitation smiles and how "it's wonderful to be her
I'm really not sure what we're so scared we'll mis
So round and round and round and round and round we go
Hanging on every shape they throw
It's strange the way we can't say no
Until we love them all...
So we laugh at every stupid joke
And smoke and choke and point and poke
And gag on countless lines...
How much we love them all!
And i really don't know why we do it like this
Imitation smiles and how "it's wonderful to be her
I'm really not sure what we're so scared we'll miss
Maybe it's the sex with the drugs and the fools
Or maybe it's the promise of belief?
Maybe it's the pleasure and the pain of the cruel
Or maybe it's the promise of relief?
And i know that we've said it so many times
"once more and never again"
But however many times that we've said it before
Once more is never the end...
song performed by by Cure
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Standin' Round Cryin'
Oh baby, look how you got me standin' 'round crying.
Oh baby, look how you got me standin' 'round crying.
Lord I love you little girl, you're always resting on my mind.
Oh baby, I ain't gonna be riding you 'round in my automobile.
Oh baby, I ain't gonna be riding you 'round in my automobile.
You got so many men, I'm afraid you may get me killed.
Oh baby, you ain't nothing like you used to be. (No, don't get me killed, honey!)
Oh baby, you ain't nothing like you used to be. (Oh man, leave that woman alone!)
When I was deep in love with you, little girl,
you were just sweet as an apple on a tree.
song performed by by Eric Clapton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Watching The Wheels
People say Im crazy doing what Im doing
Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin
When I say that Im o.k. well they look at me kind of strange
Surely youre not happy now you no longer play the game
People say Im lazy dreaming my life away
Well they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me
When I tell them that Im doing fine watching shadows on the wall
Dont you miss the big time boy youre no longer on the ball
Im just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
I really love to watch them roll
No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go
Ah, people asking questions lost in confusion
Well I tell them theres no problem, only solutions
Well they shake their heads and they look at me as if Ive lost my mind
I tell them theres no hurry
Im just sitting here doing time
Im just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
I really love to watch them roll
No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go
I just had to let it go
I just had to let it go
song performed by by Lennon John
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Watching The Wheels
People say Im crazy, doing what Im doing.
Well, they give me all kinds of warning to save me from ruin.
When I say that Im okay,
Well, they look at me kind of strange,
Surely youre not happy now,
You no longer play the game.
People say Im lazy, dreaming my life away.
Well, they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me.
When I tell them that Im doing fine
Watching shadows on the wall,
Dont you miss the big time, boy,
Youre no longer on the ball.
Im just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,
I really love to watch them roll.
No longer riding on the merry go round,
I just had to let it go.
Ah, people asking questions, lost in confusion.
Well, I tell them theres no problem, only solutions.
Well, they shake their heads and look at me
As if I lost my mind.
I tell them theres no hurry,
Im just sitting here doing time.
Im just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,
I really love to watch them roll.
No longer riding on the merry go round,
I just had to let it go,
I just had to let it go,
I just had to let it go.
song performed by by Yoko Ono
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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An Exhortation On Some Lines....
something is missing in your lines.
i regret to tell you that.
it does not speak well of yourself
or the world
or any moment, it is like a desert and all we have is space and
a horizon
there is even no wind to blow the sands away
i do not expect rain in the desert
but i could have seen a camel or a line of trucks or a
caravan
or even a Bedouin riding on his black horse with a scimitar
here i am again
in my worst self trying to tell you what to do so that you can be what you are
your lines are straight and too clean and that make them appear
dishonest
people love crooked lines and those that move in free directions
lines that are cold like the wind
and yet vibrant at night
not really dead, but simply grieving in silence for the loss of
someone so loved and missed.
i do not want you to change your lines, they are yours to
show,
i may be unfair wishing that your lines may be like mine
but mine are too sad and always sounding like a lover abandoned.
the beautiful lines are not clean.
they are imbued with our errors, erasures, blasting in our faces
like explosives
where shattered as we are on the fields of our disasters
only in a few seconds
we become silent spaces again.
mine are sad, and lonely and abandoned.
they are the only ones i have now, and so i must be compelled to
have them and love them
just the way they are.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Affection Of Friend
—Where do you go princess – riding on the horse
— To go to fairy land -my long time intends
—Will you go with me riding on horse to land of fairy?
—No, at house my mother is waiting for me
—Come back, I shall listen from you fairy land's tale
—I can't leave you even my dream falls in hell
—Let us both turn round our village to see its beautifying.
poem by Bongokobida Zakaria
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Eland’s River
IT WAS on the fourth of August, as five hundred of us lay
In the camp at Eland’s River, came a shell from De La Rey—
We were dreaming of home faces,
Of the old familiar places,
And the gum-trees and the sunny plains five thousand miles away—
But the challenge woke and found us
With four thousand rifles round us;
And Death stood laughing at us at the breaking of the day.
Hell belched upon our borders, and the battle had begun.
Our Maxims jammed: We faced them with one muzzle-loading gun.
East, south, and west, and nor’ward
Their shells came screaming forward
As we threw the sconces round us in the first light of the sun.
The thin air shook with thunder
As they raked us fore and under,
And the cordon closed around us, as they held us—eight to one.
We got the Maxims going, and the field-gun into place
(She stilled the growling of a Krupp upon our southern face);
Round the crimson ring of battle
Swiftly ran the deadly rattle
As our rifles searched their fore-lines with a desperate menace;
Who would wish himself away
Fighting in our ranks that day
For the glory of Australia and the honour of the race?
But our horse-lines soon were shambles, and our cattle lying dead
(When twelve guns rake two acres there is little room to tread),
All day long we heard the drumming
Of the Mauser bullets humming,
And at night their guns, day-sighted, rained fierce havoc overhead.
Twelve long days and nights together,
Through the cold and bitter weather,
We lay grim behind the sconces, and returned them lead for lead.
They called us to surrender, and they let their cannon lag;
They offered us our freedom for the striking of the flag—
Army stores were there in mounds,
Worth a hundred thousand pounds,
And we lay battered round them behind trench and sconce and crag.
But we sent the answer in,
They could take what they could win—
We hadn’t come five thousand miles to fly the coward’s rag.
We saw the guns of Carrington come on and, fall away;
We saw the ranks of Kitchener across the kopje grey—
For the sun was shining then
Upon twenty thousand men—
And we laughed, because we knew, in spite of hell-fire and delay,
On Australia’s page for ever
We had written Eland’s River—
We had written it for ever and a day!
poem by George Essex Evans
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