From the singing of Will Starks of Clarksdale, Mississippi on August 9th, 1942. listen.

THE LATE WAR

The reason McKinley was so slow about sending men to war
He was an old soldier, had been in war before
Before the war
The late war

The reason he called single men who wasn't afraid to die
He didn't want to send no married man, leave his wife to cry
To the war
The late war

I went over to Cuba, I went against my will
I thought o'er one thing a thousand times, oh then I'd get killed
In the war
The late war

The soldiers, they went to running, I went to running too
Get my feet a little exercise, I had nothing else to do
In the war
The late war

McKinley asked me why did I run, "You ain't afraid to die?"
I told him, "No, that wadn't why I run, cause I couldn't fly"
In the war
The late war