Big Steamers

"Big Steamers" is a poem by Rudyard Kipling, first published in 1911 as one of his twenty-three poems written specially for C. R. L. Fletcher's "A School History of England".^[1] It appears in the last chapter of the book. It is intended for children, with the verses responding with facts and humour to their curiosity about the 'big steamers' - as the merchant ships are called.

Songs

The poem has been set to music by two English composers: Edward German and Edward Elgar. The poem was also put to music by English folk singer and Kipling Society Fellow Peter Bellamy.

German's setting was for baritone voice with piano accompaniment, and published by Cramer in 1911.

Elgar set the poem to music late in World War I, with the permission of Kipling, and it was published in "The Teacher's World", June 19, 1918. This was in response to a request from the Ministry of Food Control to set the poem to music,^[2] with the intention that it would be sung in schools and bring to the attention of children the importance of merchant ships - at a time when many ships had been lost to German U-boats and food rationing had just been introduced. It was a simple song with piano accompaniment, suitable for children, and the first music Elgar had written for about a year. Elgar wrote to Lord Rhondda:^[3]

"The occasion seemed to call for something exceptionally simple and direct, and I have endeavoured to bring the little piece within the comprehension of very small people indeed."^[4]

Verses

There are seven verses. The first six verses begin with the children's questions and suggestions, each of which has a response from the personified Big Steamers:

1. "Oh, where are you going to, all you Big Steamers,

2. "And where will you fetch if from, all you Big Steamers,

3. "But if anything happened to all you Big Steamers,

4. "Then I'll pray for fine weather for all you Big Steamers,

5. "Then I'll build a new lighthouse for all you Big Steamers,

6. "Then what can I do for all you Big Steamers,

At the last line the children are reminded of what was, at the time, a serious possibility:

7. ... And if anyone hinders our coming, you'll starve."

Recordings

Choir and piano: Big Steamers and other music by Elgar, performed by Barry Collett (piano) and Tudor Choir. On CD - The Unknown Elgar - Pearl SHECD9635
Roderick Williams, Nicholas Lester, Laurence Meikle and Duncan Rock/Guildford Philharmonic/Tom Higgins: Somm SOMMCD243^[5] Higgins' arrangement of Elgar's song for four unaccompanied baritones, and his arrangement of German's song for baritone solo (Williams) and orchestra
A version of the Peter Bellamy setting of the poem appears on the 2012 album 'Diversions Volume 3: Songs From The Shipyards' by The Unthanks

Notes

↑ Fletcher, Chapter XII
↑ Moore, p. 719
↑ Lord Rhondda, Minister of Food Control, was ill at the time and died on 3 July
↑ Quotation in "The Teachers World", June 19, 1918
↑ Elgar: The Fringes of the Fleet, etc: Williams/Guildford PO/Higgins

References

Fletcher, C.R.L. and Kipling, Rudyard “A School History of England” (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1911)
Moore, Jerrold N. “Edward Elgar: a creative life” (Oxford University Press, 1984) ISBN 0-19-315447-1

External links

Big Steamers (notes by Peter Keating)
Lyrics of Big Steamers on the Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Rationing and World War I Describes the introduction of food rationing in 1918 and the importance of the merchant ships

Rudyard Kipling

Novels	The Light that Failed (1891) Captains Courageous (1896) Kim (1901)

Collections	Plain Tales from the Hills (1888) Soldiers Three (1888) The Story of the Gadsbys (1888) In Black and White (1888) The Phantom 'Rickshaw and other Eerie Tales (1888) Under the Deodars (1888) Wee Willie Winkie and Other Child Stories (1888) From Sea to Sea and Other Sketches, Letters of Travel (1889) Barrack-Room Ballads (1892, poetry) The Jungle Book (1894) "Mowgli's Brothers" "Kaa's Hunting" "Tiger! Tiger!" "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" The Second Jungle Book (1895) "Letting in the Jungle" "Red Dog" All the Mowgli Stories (c. 1895) The Seven Seas (1896, poetry) The Day's Work (1898) Stalky & Co. (1899) Just So Stories (1902) Puck of Pook's Hill (1906) Rewards and Fairies (1910) The Fringes of the Fleet (1915, non-fiction) Debits and Credits (1926) Limits and Renewals (1932) Rudyard Kipling's Verse: Definitive Edition (1940)

Poems	"The Absent-Minded Beggar" "The Ballad of the "Clampherdown"" "The Ballad of East and West" "The Bell Buoy" "The Betrothed" "Big Steamers" "Cold Iron" "Danny Deever" "The Female of the Species" "Fuzzy-Wuzzy" "Gentleman ranker" "The Gods of the Copybook Headings" "Gunga Din" "Hymn Before Action" "If—" "In the Neolithic Age" "The King's Pilgrimage" "The Last of the Light Brigade" "The Lowestoft Boat" "Mandalay" "My Boy Jack" "Recessional" "A Song in Storm" "Sons of Martha" "Submarines" "The Sweepers" "Tommy" "Ubique" "The White Man's Burden" "The Widow at Windsor"

Short stories	".007" "The Arrest of Lieutenant Golightly" "Baa Baa, Black Sheep" "Bread upon the Waters" "The Broken Link Handicap" "The Butterfly that Stamped" "Consequences" "The Conversion of Aurelian McGoggin" "Cupid's Arrows" "The Devil and the Deep Sea" "The Drums of the Fore and Aft" "Fairy-Kist" "False Dawn" "A Germ-Destroyer" "His Chance in Life" "His Wedded Wife" "In the House of Suddhoo" "Kidnapped" "Learoyd, Mulvaney and Ortheris" "Lispeth" "The Man Who Would Be King" "A Matter of Fact" "Miss Youghal's Sais" "The Mother Hive" "Ortheris" "The Other Man" "The Rescue of Pluffles" "The Ship that Found Herself" "The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo" "The Taking of Lungtungpen" "Three and – an Extra" "The Three Musketeers" "Thrown Away" "Toomai of the Elephants" "Watches of the Night" "Wireless" "Yoked with an Unbeliever"

Related	Bibliography Bateman's home Indian Railway Library Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer Iron Ring Law of the jungle Aerial Board of Control My Boy Jack (1997 play) Rudyard Kipling: A Remembrance Tale (2006 documentary) My Boy Jack (2007 film)

Family	Elsie Bambridge (daughter) John Kipling (son) John Lockwood Kipling (father) MacDonald sisters (mother's family) Stanley Baldwin (cousin) Edward Burne-Jones (uncle) Edward Poynter (uncle) Alfred Baldwin (uncle)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.