"Cold Iron" is a

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

written by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

published as the introduction to ''

Rewards and Fairies ''Rewards and Fairies'' is a historical fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling published in 1910. The title comes from the poem "Farewell, Rewards and Fairies" by Richard Corbet, which was referred to by the children in the first story of Kipling's ...

'' in 1910. Not to be confused with Cold Iron (The Tale). In 1983,

Leslie Fish Leslie Fish is a folk musician, author, and anarchist political activist. Music Along with The DeHorn Crew, in 1976 she created the first commercial filk recording, ''Folk Songs for Folk Who Ain't Even Been Yet''. Her second recording, ''Solar S ...

set the poem to music and recorded it as the title track on her fifth cassette-tape album. In 1996, the song was nominated for a

Pegasus Award The Pegasus Award is the premier award for filk music and is annually hosted at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest (OVFF). Awards The Pegasus Awards were founded to recognize and honor excellence in filking. As science fiction (sci-fi) became better kn ...

for "Best Spiritual Song" by a ballot of science fiction and fantasy fans, conducted by the committee of the annual Ohio Valley Filk Fest (OVFF), a

filk music Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s. Etymology and defin ...

convention.

Summary

Cold Iron begins with Baron realizing that war (cold iron) is the gift/ or metal of man. The second stanza implies that the Baron believes force is how one gets what they want. The third stanza implies the foolishness of the Baron. Skip to stanza seven, and the reader sees that the King throughout the poem has been Christ. The eighth stanza talks about Christianity and the forgiveness Christ gives to his followers.

Interpretation

Peter Bellamy sang it on his first album of songs set to Kipling's poems: Oak, Ash, & Thorn. He stated that the text of the song isn't derived from the tale of Cold Iron but they share a common theme of the iron's influence over men and the People of the Hills. William H. Stoddard observed that "Cold Iron" means ordinary iron that the Roman Legion used to crucify criminals, he also commented how the iron was interpreted differently as a magical substance.

References

{{Rudyard Kipling Poetry by Rudyard Kipling 1910 poems