Play Up Play Up And Play The Game - UPDATE

 

You'll recall Great Britain faced off the Mahdi in the 1880s, with General Gordon losing his head in Khartoum and a British Square being partially broken at the battle of Abu Klea, in which the beloved and heroic Col. Burnaby was killed by a Moslem spear to the throat. 

Sir Henry Newboldt wrote a poem immortalizing the thing. Here it is:

There’s a breathless hush in the Close to-night —

Ten to make and the match to win —

A bumping pitch and a blinding light,

An hour to play and the last man in.

And it’s not for the sake of a ribboned coat,

Or the selfish hope of a season’s fame,

But his Captain’s hand on his shoulder smote —

‘Play up! play up! and play the game!’

The sand of the desert is sodden red, —

Red with the wreck of a square that broke; —

The Gatling’s jammed and the Colonel dead,

And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.

The river of death has brimmed his banks,

And England’s far, and Honour a name,

But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks:

‘Play up! play up! and play the game!’

This is the word that year by year,

While in her place the School is set,

Every one of her sons must hear,

And none that hears it dare forget.

This they all with a joyful mind

Bear through life like a torch in flame,

And falling fling to the host behind —

‘Play up! play up! and play the game!’

Play up! Play up! And play the game! It's easy to mock this,  unless you're, ahem, Texas A&M(!), and the beastly place which calls itself "Clifton," but maybe not so fast, punters. Are duty, loyalty, esprit de corps and sheer resolution in the face of the enemy bad things? I will face you, enemy of my people, and I will not give up. Ever. There's a virtue in that, call it fighting spirit if you like.

Your Friend,

LSP

PS. A schoolboy "rallies the ranks." Reflect on the line. Try saying the chorus in that very same, unbroken voice and see where it leads you. Maybe to this: