Freeper's Favorite Poems

[FrankBooth]

Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler and Robin Moore, copyright 1966

Fighting soldiers from the sky
Fearless men who jump and die
Men who mean just what they say
The brave men of the Green Beret

Silver wings upon their chest
These are men, America's best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win the Green Beret

Trained to live off nature's land
Trained in combat, hand-to-hand
Men who fight by night and day
Courage peak from the Green Berets

Silver wings upon their chest
These are men, America's best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win the Green Beret

Back at home a young wife waits
Her Green Beret has met his fate
He has died for those oppressed
Leaving her his last request

Put silver wings on my son's chest
Make him one of America's best
He'll be a man they'll test one day
Have him win the Green Beret.

[FrankBooth]

1. Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition

Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition



Words and Music by Frank Loesser
Music by James Sanderson


Down went the gun-ner, a bul - let was his fate
Down went the gun-ner, and then the gun-ner's mate
Up jumped the sky pi-lot, gave the boys a look
And manned the gun him-self as he laid a-side TheBook, shout-ing:

"Praise The Lord, and pass the am-mu-ni-tion!
Praise The Lord, and pass the am-mu-ni-tion!
Praise The Lord, and pass the am-mu-ni-tion and we'll all stay free!

Praise The Lord, and swing in-to po-si-tion,
Can't af-ford to sit a-round a'-wish-in'
Praise The Lord, we're all be-tween per-dition
and the deep blue sea!"

Yes the sky pi-lot said it You've got to give him cred-it
for a son-of-a-gun of a gun-ner was he,
Shouting: "Praise The Lord,
we're on a might - y mis-sion!
All a-board! We're not a - go - in' fish-in',
Praise The Lord, and pass the am-mu-ni-tion
and we'll all stay free."

[AuntiBush]

6. Amen!

A-men, brother!

[Zuni]

2. what about the ballad of Lt. Calley?

[Beware the Beast Man]

3. ...

Just the good ol’ boys,
Never meanin’ no harm,
Beats all you’ve ever saw, been in trouble
With the law since the day they was born.

Straightnin’ the curve,
Flatnin’ the hills.
Someday the mountain might get ‘em,
But the law never will.

Makin’ their way,
The only way they know how,
That’s just a little bit more
Than the law will allow.

Just good ol’ boys,
Wouldn’t change if they could,
Fightin’ the system like
a true modern day Robin Hood.

[loudestchick]

4. They don't get it...but they like it.

The Charge Of The Light Brigade
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

HALF a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade ?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

[DS1]

5. Riddle me this, riddle me that

I like to argue,
with my baseball bat

Some say I'm stupid,
some say I'm slow,
ya'll should ask my sister,
as my mother she'd know

I got the looks of a goat,
I got smarts like a quiffe, (sp? you ladies know what I'm talkin bout)
All the DUmmies know,
my idol's a thief

[pbartch]

7. I'm a lumberjack ??????????

I'm a lumberjack
And I'm O.K.
I sleep all night
And I work all day.

He's a lumberjack
And he's O.K.
He sleeps all night
And he works all day.

I cut down trees
I eat my lunch
I go to the lavatory
On Wednesday I go shopping
And have buttered scones for tea.

Mounties: He cuts down trees
He eats his lunch
He goes to the lavatory
On Wednesday he goes shopping
And has buttered scones for tea.

He's a lumberjack
And he's O.K.
He sleeps at night
And he works all day.

I cut down trees
I skip and jump
I like to press wild flowers
I put on women's clothing
And hang around in bars.

Mounties: He cuts down trees
He skips and jumps
He likes to press wild flowers
He puts on women's clothing
And hangs around in bars.

He's a lumberjack
And he's O.K.
He sleeps all night
And he works all day.

I cut down trees
I wear high heels
Suspenders and a bra
I wish I'd been a girlie
Just like my dear Pappa.

Mounties: He cuts down trees
He wears high heels
(spoken rather than sung)
Suspenders... and a bra?
That's shocking, etc.
That's rude... tuttut... tut tut...

[tjwmason]

9. Such a classic n/t

[Modem Butterfly]

8. We had to sing that in elementary school music class

Mrs. Haggarty. Now THERE was a proto-Freeper. I'll never forget my mother's reaction to finding out she was having us sing this particular song, as well as a number of hymns and religious songs. She marched down to the elementary school and DEMANDED to speak to the principal. I had to sit outside while she talked to him. I could see both of them through the glass window. I remember not understanding what was wrong, and thinking I'd done something. She was so mad her arms were waving. Then, the principals arms started waving, too. Mrs. Haggarty was called in and HER arms started waving. Soon, we had a new music teacher.

[noonwitch]

10. They probably like the old way of saying "Eenie Meenie Minee Mo"

The one where the n word is substituted for tiger.

[jmowreader]

11. And let's strike up a rousing chorus of the Counterculture Version

The first six lines of this song refer to the Army Security Agency patch:

)

Black is for the night we fear
Blue is for the water we don't go near
White is for the flag we fly
Yellow is the reason why.

Red is for the blood we shed
As you see, there is no red
'Titless WACs', that's what they say
About the men of the ASA.

Fighting soldiers jump and die
We're the ones who sit and cry
One hundred men will jump today
But not a one from the ASA.

Drunken soldiers, always high
Dropouts from old Sigma Chi
Men who bullshit all the way
We're the men of the ASA.

We're not trained to fight or kill
But we'll always drink our fill
Men who drink can seldom fight
And ASA drinks through the night.

Trained to go from bar to bar
That's the life that's best by far
"Another round," someone proclaims,
"In another hour we'll start our swings."

On a mid, a trick chief waits
For his men are coming in late
Men who drink among the best
'Another round', our last request.

Headphones humming in our ears
We've been cleared, so we're not queers
One hundred men will test today
But only one makes the ASA.

A teal blue scarf 'round my son's neck
Would make my son a nervous wreck
One hundred men re-upped today
But not a one for the ASA.

The Army merged the Army Intelligence Agency (AIA) and the Army Security Agency (ASA) into the Army Intelligence and Security Command (USAINSCOM) in 1977. This song was why--the Powers that Be finally figured out we weren't kidding.

On edit: there's another and very much shorter version of this tune:

White is for the flag we fly
Yellow is the reason why
Red is for the blood we shed
But as you see there is no red

Silver steins upon our chests
We are men-the Agency's best
One hundred men re-up today
But not a one from the ASA.

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. One fish, two fish....

[NightTrain]

13. There once was a man from Nantucket....