Page:The moods of Ginger Mick.djvu/69

 The Singing Soldiers

HEN I'm sittin' in me dug-out wiv me rifle on me knees, An' a yowlin', 'owlin' chorus comes a-floatin' up the breeze— Jist a bit o' 'Bonnie Mary' or 'Long Way to Tipperary'— Then I know I'm in Australia, took an' planted overseas. They've bin up agin it solid since we crossed the flamin' foam; But they're singin'—alwiz singin'—since we left the wharf at 'ome.

"O, its 'On the Mississippi' or 'Me Grey 'Ome in the West.' If it's death an' 'ell nex' minute they must git it orf their chest. 'Ere's a snatch o' 'When yer Roamin'—When yer Roamin' in the Gloamin'.' 'Struth! The first time that I 'eard it, wiv me 'ead on Rosie's breast, We wus comin' frum a picnic in a Ferntree Gully train... But the shrapnel made the music when I 'eard it sung again."

So I gits it straight frum Ginger in 'is letter 'ome to me, On a dirty scrap o' paper wiv the writin' 'ard to see.