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Civil service jingles and other things

Chapter 11: SONG OF THE SERVICE
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About This Book

A series of witty poems, parables, and light verses lampooning bureaucratic life and public service. Short jingles and longer allegorical sketches caricature clerical drudgery, patronage, political opportunism, and office rivalries, often using mock‑biblical cadence, puns, and comic exaggeration. Narratives follow minor officials navigating promotions, investigations, and changing regimes, while satirical vignettes highlight hypocrisy and the survival tactics of lower‑rank employees. The collection alternates playful rhyme and humorous prose to entertain readers acquainted with administrative routines.

SONG OF THE SERVICE

I sing of the Service fast going to pot,
And it seems no one cares a tittle or jot,
Now, any jackass, when not eating grass,
Can bray regulations and have them to pass.
It looks much as if we were surely between
A reformatory school and a place not so cool;
And we look like fat little boys of fifteen
Who had played in the dirt
And when whipt had been pert,
And so had to go without our dessert.
We must sign every time we come out or go in,
And all our small faults are writ down as a sin.
In a manner to gall him, each is put in a column
Arranged to exhibit him naked and solemn.
Some day soon we expect to all carry passes,
And each Monday morn, at sound of a horn,
We’ll line up for a dose of sulphuretted molasses,
And get a badge of red tape
To show any old ape
Our insides are in shape!