"If" by Rudyard Kipling (poetry reading)

If you think the views expressed in this poem are admirable, you should consider what George Orwell said about Kipling: 4umi.com Also you could listen to Roger Whittaker, "I Don't Believe In 'If' Anymore" www.youtube.com Kipling wrote this poem for his son John then aged 12. Later he pulled strings to get John into the Great War, and John was killed in 1915. Later Kipling wrote this codicil about his son and all the other dead sons: : "If any question why we died, tell them, because our fathers lied". Thus "If" does not represent Kipling's views. WARNING. WHAT FOLLOWS IS BRITISH HUMOUR. Some of my tastier friends from the underworld don't understand Kipling's archaic language, so I promised them a verse by verse translation. It should be read in parallel with the original. Keep schtum: admit nothing: the watchword is Plausible Deniability - okay that's two watchwords - they can't just say it : at the end of the day they have to prove it and produce evidence. Remember that witnesses can be bought or frightened off. Just stay cool and alert, sleep with one eye open and watch your back. Make like there's all the time in the world: eventually they'll run out of patience and make a mistake. If they tell lies about you and you can prove it, sue the bastards. Love your enemies because that really annoys them. Don't let on how smart you are. Pretend to be nice. Don't waste time on ideas that don't work out, be the first to recognise a lost cause. Remember, when the ship sinks the <b>...</b>





































