Not making any guesses with regard to words, just throwing in what seems a peculiarity in the words quoted; the impression is of an English song from the first line, but isn't "quite" the American idiom? That is, to say something is "quite good" means "excellent" in American usage, as far as I learnt anyway, but in English usage means "fairly good". Or, "it's no' bad" in Scots English.
Someone is sure to know whether a "quart a day" were part of a sailor's/soldier's rations.