THE SELOUS SCOUTS

"The Selous Scouts"
I used to sit by the water's edge & watch the campfire glow
& I'd listen to the night-birds cry & feel the breezes blow.
My belly full of the meat I'd shot, I'd sit for hours & muse
As the moon came up & the shadows changed to many different hues.

I used to roam through this country wide in search of game so fleet
& I'd listen to the lions roar as they too searched for meat.
I'd make my camp on the grassy plain or in the mountains tall
& I'd friends at every farm & store & every native kraal.

But now when I near a river's edge or roam this country wide
I've a lot of men to back me, & I think of them with pride.
They're a scruffy lot to look at, but they've a tracker's skill;
They're damned fine men in a follow-up, & damned good at a kill.

The Scouts they're called, & well-named, too, for the man whose name they bear
Was the greatest hunter in this land, & these men fear no dare!
For the game they hunt is vermin that would pillage, plunder and maim.
& they do their job efficiently, with never thought of fame!