Here's the version of "Destroyer Life" collected by John Jacob Niles during World War 1:

Destroyer Song

The boys out in the trenches
Have got a lot to say
Of the hardships and the sorrows
That come the soldier's way;
But we destroyer sailors
Would like their company
On a couple of trips in our skinny ships,
When we put out to sea.

Chorus:

Oh, it's roll and toss,
And pound and pitch,
And creak and groan, you son of a bitch,
Oh, boy, it's a hell of a life on a destroyer.

Oh, Holy Mike, you ought to see
How it feels to roll through each degree.
The God-damned ships were never meant for sea;
You carry guns, torpedoes, and ash-cans in a bunch,
But the only time you're sure to fire is when you shoot your lunch.
Your food it is the navy bean,
You hunt the slimy submarine.
It's a son-of-a-bitch of a life on a destroyer. (CHO)

We've heard of muddy dug-outs,
Of shell holes filled with slime,
Of cootie hunts and other things
That fill a soldier's time.
But believe me, boy, that's nothing,
To what it's like at sea,
When the barometer drops
And the clinometer hops,
And the wind blows dismally. (CHO)

From Songs My Mother Never Taught Me, John Jacob Niles

Niles was in the US Army Air Service at the time but was actively collecting what the soldiers and sailors sang. Most of the really interesting songs collected by Niles were from the Black soldiers and published at the end of the War.

Charlie Ipcar