As I rushed up that hill like a goat

I got thirty-two shots thro’ my trousers

And nine shrapnel balls thro’ my coat;

And a Japanese bomb burst beneath me

—For a moment I gave up all hope,

But it proved the best thing that could happen,

For it pushed me half-way up the slope.

Then a fifteen-inch shell came straight at me

—I hadn’t a moment to shirk—

But it struck on that hard Army biscuit