Poem by Rudyard Kipling

The Lowestoft Boat

   East Coast Patrols of the War

              1914-18

            Sea Warfare

In Lowestoft a boat was laid,
  Mark well what I do say!
And she was built for the herring-trade,
  But she  has  gone  a-rovin',  a-rovin',  a-rovin',
  The Lord knows where!

They gave her Government coal to burn,
And a Q.F. gun at bow and stern,
And sent her out a-rovin', etc.

Her skipper was mate of a bucko ship
Which always killed one man per trip,
So he is used to rovin', etc.

Her mate was skipper of a chapel in Wales,
And so he fights in topper and tails--
Religi-ous tho' rovin', etc.

Her engineer is fifty-eight,'
So he's prepared to meet his fate,
Which ain't unlikely rovin', etc.

Her leading-stoker's seventeen,
So he don't know what the Judgments mean,
Unless he cops 'em rovin', etc.

Her cook was chef in the Lost Dogs' Home,
  Mark well what I do say!
And I'm sorry for Fritz when they all come
  A-rovin', a-rovin', a-roarin'  and a-rovin',
  Round the North Sea rovin',
  The Lord knows where!

1. The First Chantey
2. The Last of the Light Brigade
3. «Limits and Renewals». 1932. 12. The Threshold
4. Lord Roberts
5. «Limits and Renewals». 1932. 19. Azrael's Count

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