This poem is about two fates that befall even the most powerful people, armies and nations, and that threatened England at the time: passing out of existence, and lapsing from Christian faith into profanity. Lest we forget—lest we forget! Lest we forget—lest we forget! Before the term was used in reference to soldiers and war, it was first used in an 1897 Christian poem written by Rudyard Kipling called "Recessional". Although this poem is not now on the lips of many people, aside from diehard Kipling fans, one phrase from ‘Recessional’ is heard and read every year: ‘lest we forget’, the phrase used every Remembrance Sunday to commemorate those soldiers who died in war, comes from this poem, which Kipling wrote for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The dawning of the 20th century saw the British Empire painting one quarter of the globe pink. Related Video. ‘Lest we forget’ means we remember Bijan Ebrahimi, a disabled Iranian refugee murdered in Bristol on the July 14th 2013 by a man called Lee James. Celebrity choice. [4], War remembrance phrase first used in a poem by Rudyard Kipling, 10.26754/ojs_historiografias/hrht.2017132357, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lest_we_forget&oldid=996002133, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 24 December 2020, at 00:36. Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, Lest we forget -- lest we forget! Tags: conflict, faith, ideology. The phrase occurs eight times; and is repeated at the end of the first four stanzas in order to add particular emphasis regarding the dangers of failing to remember. Far-called, our navies melt away; On dune and headland sinks the fire: Lo, all our pomp of yesterday Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! Jun 5, 2020 - "Lest we forget" from Rudyard Kipling's 1897 poem Recessional has become a ceremonial phrase of remembrance. Recessional seems a repetition of the phrase "Lest we forget" at the end of each of the first four stanzas. Lest we forget—lest we forget! The concept of 'being careful not to forget' was already present in the Bible (Deuteronomy 4:7-9): This Biblical quote is probably a direct source for the term in the 1897 poem. Lest we forget, lest we forget! Kipling himself took inspiration from the Bible - namely Deuteronomy 6 verse 12, which reads: "Then beware lest thou forget the Lord which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt". ‘Lest we forget Lest We Forget: Rudyard Kipling’s “Recessional”: Honest History document’, Honest History, 2 May 2017 updated Update 4 June 2017: an Army musician sang ‘Recessional’ at the opening of the Boer War memorial in Canberra last week. Lest we forget - lest we forget! Lest we forget - lest we forget! God of our fathers, known of old, Lord of our far-flung battle line, Beneath whose awful hand we hold Dominion over palm and pine— Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget—lest we forget! Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget - lest we forget! Far-call’d our navies melt away— On dune and headland sinks the fire— Lo, all our pomp of yesterday Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! Binyon did not date the manuscript, but he likely penned it before the war end… Combined with the red poppy inspired by John McCrae's 1915 poem In Flanders Fields these powerful themes have kept remembrance alive for generations. http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_recess1.htm>; http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/g/o/godofofa.htm. Kipling’s Recessional has a repeating chorus of “Lest we forget.” According to Kipling the rest of the poem was built around this singular phrase which gripped him in his study. The tumult and the shouting dies; The captains and the kings depart: Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, An humble and a contrite heart. Lest we forget—lest we forget! The phrase occurs eight times; and is repeated at the end of the first four stanzas in order to add particular emphasis regarding the dangers of failing to remember. Published: 1902. Written for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee (held in 1897) and sourced by the Poetry Foundation from A Choice of Kipling’s Verse, 1943. By Rudyard Kipling. Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget—lest we forget! Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, Lest we forget - lest we forget! Kipling, Brooke & Grenfell - First World War poets . "Lest we forget" is a phrase commonly used in war remembrance services and commemorative occasions in English speaking countries. [citation needed], The poem "Recessional" also appears as a common hymn at war remembrance services; and the phrase "Lest We Forget" can hence be sung.[2]. Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, Lest we forget, lest we forget! New Zealanders may not know that the phrase ‘lest we forget’ came from Kipling’s poem written in 1897 for Queen Victoria’s jubilee, the same reason Victoria University of … Lest we forget, lest we forget! “Lest we forget” are words strongly associated with Anzac Day. More poems by Rudyard Kipling. The tumult and the shouting dies; - ‘Recessional’(second stanza) Kipling composed ‘Recessional’ for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Before the term was used in reference to soldiers and war, it was first used in an 1897 Christian poem written by Rudyard Kipling called "Recessional". The full poem Recessional by Rudyard Kipling God of our fathers, known of old, This poem follows Kipling’s well known story The Elephant’s Child, which narrates the tale of a little elephant with insatiable curiosity. Far-called our navies melt away --On dune and headland sinks the fire --Lo, all our pomp of yesterday Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! 1897. Kipling’s goal was to stress the danger of forgetting God, for when nations rise to wealth and power, they are inclined to forget their God. “Lest we forget” This hook explores different ways to commemorate the First World War. Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, Lest we forget, lest we forget! Each has come into their own time 'under the sun'. Lee James had been, but a 17-year-old boy when the hate-fuelled campaign against Ebrahimi had begun. The phrase "lest we forget" is thought to come from the poem Recessional by Rudyard Kipling, which was written for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Far-call’d our navies melt away— On dune and headland sinks the fire— Lo, all our pomp of yesterday Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! Michelle Ryan on why she loves Kipling. Lest we forget, lest we forget! ‘Recessional’ by Rudyard Kipling is a five stanza poem which was first published in 1897 for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.The stanzas are separated into sets of six lines, or sestets.Each one of these sestets follows a structured and consistent rhyme scheme of ababcc, alternating with the poet’s choice of words throughout the text. If, drunk with sight of power, we loose Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe, Such boastings as the Gentiles use, Together their message is a beautifully solemn tribute made t… Small letters at the foot instruct: “To economise paper, please write on the other side, if required”. People often add the quote to the end of a … Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, Lest we forget, lest we forget! . They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. ... Print this poem. The four lines of the fourth stanza of the poem are also known as the ‘Ode of Remembrance’. Far-called, our navies melt away; On dune and headland sinks the fire: Lo, all our pomp of yesterday Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! Lest we forget: binyon’s ode of remembrance. ... Against this backdrop Binyon, then Assistant Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, sat to compose a poem that Rudyard Kipling would one day praise as “the most beautiful expression of sorrow in the English language”. If, drunk with sight of power, we loose Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe, Its use in Remembrance Day observations is a plea for the living not to forget the sacrifices of the fallen. This is consistent with the main theme of the "Recessional" poem – that if a nation forgets the true source of its success (the "Lord God of Hosts" and His "ancient sacrifice" of "a humble and contrite heart") – its military or material possessions will be insufficient in times of war. The phrase later passed into common usage after World War I across the British Commonwealth, especially becoming linked with Remembrance Day and Anzac Day observations; it became a plea not to forget past sacrifices, and was often found as the only wording on war memorials,[3] or used as an epitaph. The manuscript is a mere four lines, written in Binyon’s hand, on a single octavo page of ruled notepaper. "Recessional" was written for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, which celebrated the 60th anniversary of her reign. Lest We Forget began with Rudyard Kipling, but it has become synonymous with remembrance at the end of another poem. The header contains a YMCA symbol and the imprimatur of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The poem is well-known for the biblical phrase "Lest we forget" (see Deuteronomy 6:12) repeated throughout the poem which quickly became a mainstay of … David Rieff, a far-left American academic and the son of New York intellectual Susan Sontag, argues that to recall the past, as in the phrase "lest we forget," is a "far too celebrated" activity, implying we should not commemorate those who have fallen in war. God of our fathers, known of old, Lord of our far-flung battle-line, Beneath whose awful Hand we hold. "Lest we forget" is a phrase commonly used in war remembrance services and commemorative occasions in English speaking countries. Far-called, our navies melt away; On dune and headland sinks the fire: Dominion over palm and pine—. It’s the refrain of a poem by Kipling, “Recessional” (1897) GOD of our fathers, known of old— Lord of our far-flung battle-line— Beneath whose awful Hand we hold Dominion over palm and pine— Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget, lest we forget!. The Biblical phrase became a national prayer to God about a mighty Empire that should be looking to the Lord with profound gratitude for such a glorious reign as Victoria rather than any self-congratulation. Lest we forget - lest we forget! A century after Rudyard Kipling wrote 'Lest we forget', the British and American nations have each had their turn to come to global prominence. The full poem Recessional by Rudyard Kipling. The words “Lest We Forget” form the refrain of “Recessional”, a poem written by Rudyard Kipling in 1897 for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. ‘Lest we forget’ is actually a phrase taken from Rudyard Kipling’s 1987 poem Recessional – which was written to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. 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