Our hero was a Tommy with a conscience free from care, <br />And such an open countenance that when he breathed the air <br />He mopped up all the atmosphere -- so little went to spare <br />You could hardly say he breathed, he "commandeered" it. <br />For nowadays you'll notice when a man is "on the make", <br />And other people's property is anxious for to take, <br />We never use such words as "steal", or "collar", "pinch", or "shake". <br />No, the fashion is to say we "commandeered" it. <br /> <br />And our simple-minded hero used to grumble at his lot, <br />Said he, "This commandeerin's just a little bit too hot, <br />A fellow has to carry every blooming thing he's got; <br />Whatever he puts down they'll commandeer it." <br /> <br />So after much anxiety our simple-minded elf <br />He thought he'd do a little commandeering for himself, <br />And the first thing that he'd noticed was a bottle on a shelf <br />In a cottage, so he thought he'd commandeer it. <br /> <br />"What ho!" says he, "a bottle, and, by George, it's full of beer, <br />And no commanding officer to come and interfere. <br />Here's my own blooming health," says he, "I'm on the commandeer." <br />And without another word he commandeered it. <br /> <br />On his subsequent proceedings we must draw a little veil, <br />For the Boers had left some sheep dip in that bottle labelled "Ale"; <br />But the doctor said he's shift it -- if all other methods fail, <br />We must use the stomach pump and commandeer it.<br /><br />Andrew Barton Paterson<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/commandeering/
