Robert W. Service
Robert W. Service
Robert William Servicewas a British-Canadian poet and writer who has often been called "the Bard of the Yukon". He is best known for his poems "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee", from his first book, Songs of a Sourdough. His vivid descriptions of the Yukon and its people made it seem that he was a veteran of the Klondike gold rush, instead of the late-arriving bank clerk he actually was. "These humorous tales in verse...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth16 January 1874
criticism france intense
I have an intense dislike for artificial society. In France, one could lead a free life - to do what one wanted to do without interference or criticism from one's neighbors.
song wine long
His life, though none too long, Was never dull: Of woman, wine and song Bill had his full.
winning saving easy
Avoid extremes: be moderate In saving and in spending; An equable and easy gait Will win an easy ending.
wisest
Be sure your wisest words are those you do not say.
dream men years
Alas! the road to Anywhere is pitfalled with disaster; There's hunger, want, and weariness, yet O we loved it so! As on we tramped exultantly, and no man was our master, And no man guessed what dreams were ours, as, swinging heel and toe, We tramped the road to Anywhere, the magic road to Anywhere, The tragic road to Anywhere, such dear, dim years ago.
people tough rough
The only society I like is rough and tough, and the tougher the better. There's where you get down to bedrock and meet human people.
promise debt trails
Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code.
eye may goats
Even goats may have starlight in their eyes.
failure men thinking
No man can be a failure if he thinks he's a success; If he thinks he is a winner, then he is.
lonely sunset fate
The lonely sunsets flare forlorn Down valleys dreadly desolate; The lonely mountains soar in scorn As still as death, as stern as fate.
trust truth honesty
A promise made is a debt unpaid.
song cheer war
It's easy to fight when everything's right And you're mad with the thrill and the glory; It's easy to cheer when victory's near, And wallow in fields that are gory. It's a different song when everything's wrong, When you're feeling infernally mortal; When it's ten against one, and hope there is none, Buck up, little soldier, and chortle!
men bows false-gods
The happy man is he who knows his limitations, yet bows to no false gods.
running failure winning
And each forgets, as he strips and runs With a brilliant, fitful pace, It's the steady, quiet, plodding ones Who win in the lifelong race. And each forgets that his youth has fled, Forgets that his prime is past, Till he stands one day, with a hope that's dead, In the glare of the truth at last.