'If' poem by Rudyard Kipling (British accent)

Read in a southern British accent.

Audio (c) 2012 Martin Harris
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If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn--out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings -- nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run --
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man my son!

------------Vocabulary-------------------------------
make allowance for -- accept/tolerate/forgive
keep your head -- stay in control/don't go crazy
doubting -- unbelieving/not trusting
deal in -- involve in /take part in
wise -- clever or with wisdom
triumph -- winning, success or victory
disaster -- failure or tragedy
impostor(s) -- pretender/fake
bear -- stand/accept
knave(s) -- cheater/dishonest person
stoop -- to bend the body forward or backward
build 'em up = build them up
worn-out -- over-used/exhausted
heap -- a large collection of something / a pile
pitch-and-toss -- "throw--and--flip" of a coin /gamble
nerve -- (metaphorically) courage and control under pressure
sinew -- muscle, (metaphorically) strength/power
will -- determination/spirit
virtue -- good value/quality
common touch -- ability to communicate with ordinary people.
foes -- enemies

[hoplite]

Listening to this Poem helps me every time i am about to give in to that Feeling that my life is all fucked up...

[OleksandrManuylenko]

Thank you very much, Martin! This is one of the best records of Kipling's poems on the YouTube! It would be so nice to hear more Kipling from you!

[pandalover]

My English teacher is making me memorize this whole poem, I already have it down since we're presenting tomorrow 😫

[judithmash]

I love this poem. And I would love to learn it of by heart!! Its so deep

[misspearlangel]

This is my favourite poem, back in high school this is in our literature text from Malaysia :)

[williamstevens]

I have can do it off by heart, I'm going to use it in my speaking and listening assessment at school.

[ferraro]

I wanted to hear in Real English this wonderful poem. Thanks

[aredamzd]

Thank you for sharing. Enjoyed the reading. Just the right speed. Now, give us more! Perhaps some Wordsworth etc. Once again, thank you.

[girlgooner]

An extended pause or 40 wouldn't go amiss.When Kipling said "don't breath" he never meant it too be taken quite so literally.However prop's for getting the best poem ever written (I.M.O) out there.Peace✌

[shalimarsgirl]

Wonderful video!!  Classy British accent. Thank you!  Sincerely, with love from Canada, Evy

[maybethistimenow]

Good reading. My (constructive) comments, if I may:
The 2nd verse: where you see the "-", you should pause longer (longer than where you have paused for a ", ")
The end of the last line has an exclamation mark, but you don't make it sound like an exclamation.

I hope you are not offended by these comments.

[maryammohamed]

I like that 😊, especially your accent!

[GMell]

Sung this in the 9th grade. Can't believe I was such a little kid back then. I'm really not ready for manhood yet!

[simenonsmith]

amazing felt rubbish until I watched this looks like I'm going to be good today # IF

[galinakabanova]

I like your reading very much, but I 'm afraid it is too fast for a foreigner
If you want to learn it by heart. Nevertheless, it was very helpful.

[tutorialprincessx]

i dance to this i have just won a comp with this poem .... !

[sueparkerjones]

If my favorite poem or words, if only we could put wise heads on young shoulders, read like you mean it absorb the words like a sponge SueX

[Ясный-чй]

Интересно, они знают так же хорошо нашу поэзию как мы их?

[silvialora]

Quiero estar tranquila respecto de la seguridad y buen funcionamiento de la CPU.

[Giuliaylc]

Hi, can I use your audio in my video edit? Of course I'll give you the credits in the bio