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GUEST,Lighter Lyr Req: World War One Naval Songs (17) RE: Lyr Req: World War One Naval Songs 07 Mar 16


I used to sing "Destroyer Life" till I realized it had mostly been written by John Jacob Niles and Doug Moore after the war. That may not deter you.

The best lines are

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

There are couple of other, similar songs in "Songs My Mother Never Taught Me," by Niles, Moore, and USMC cartoonist Wally Walgren (1929).

There was also a Royal Navy song about the base at Scapa Flow, to the tune of "A Little Bit of Heaven."

If you're into the truly bawdy, there's the amusing "The Sailor's Wives," beginning, "Then up and spoke the Captain's wife,/ And she was dressed in blue..."

It antedates WW1, however.


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