Recessional

"Recessional" is a poem by Rudyard Kipling, which he composed on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The poem went against the celebratory mood of the time, providing instead a warning about the transient nature of British Imperial power.^[1] Kipling recognizes that boasting and jingoism, faults of which he was often accused, were inappropriate and vain in light of God's dominion over the world.

Kipling had previously composed his more famous poem "The White Man's Burden" for Victoria's jubilee, but replaced it with "Recessional". "Burden" was published two years later, altered to fit the theme of the American imperialist expansion after the Spanish-American War.^[2]

In Australia^[3] and New Zealand^[4] "Recessional" is sung as a hymn on Anzac Day, to the tune "Melita" ("Eternal Father, Strong to Save").

The Anglican Church of Canada adopted "Recessional" as a hymn^[5] and a unique musical version of the hymn is included in the 1985 hymnal of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[6]

Lest We Forget

The words "Lest We Forget" form the refrain of "Recessional". The phrase offers a warning about the perils of hubris and the inevitable decline of imperial power.

The phrase later passed into common usage after World War I across the British Commonwealth especially, becoming linked with Remembrance Day observations; it came to be a plea not to forget past sacrifices, and was often found as the only wording on war memorials, or used as an epitaph.

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