Plattsburgh Barracks

“ THE 8TH NEW ENGLAND
(Air: Michael Roy)
The Eighth New England Infantry is the one that shows them how;
If Kaiser Bill could see us drill, the war would be over now.
Out in front of the Hostess House, as we go marching by
Where the ladies are sitting, they drop their knitting, and all begin to cry:
"For oh! For oh! What a wonderful company!
It must be either the General Staff or Company 8 N. E."
If Elihu Root could see us shoot out on the rifle range
He'd send us to Russia to help lick Prussia—oh, what a glorious change! ”

“ Bill Hallstead simulates the gun
He's sort of short and fat
And doesn't look much like a gun,
But he's pretty good at that.
And they've elected me a horse,
Off-horse of the wheel pair;
I tie a white cloth on my arm
[23] So they can see I'm there.
Then when the battery is formed
With each man in his place,
They line the "pieces" in a row
Just like a chariot race.
Bill Barnum's "Greatest Show on Earth"
Has not a thing on us;
We tear around the old parade
And kick up clouds of dust.
For it's gallop all the morning long,
They never let us walk. ”

“ Or occupy a first-line trench,
'Midst poisoned gas and dead men's stench,
And hand grenades that burst and maim;
May not all hell our spirit quench—
God give us guts to play the game.
4
If through entangled wires and mud,
Charging the Boche, we madly run,
With comrades dropping, dyed with blood,
And sickening sights and sounds that stun,
And in death's duel meet the Hun
'Midst shell holes, smoke, and battle flame,
Steel clashing steel and gun to gun—
God give us guts to play the game. ”

“ We made New England Four.
It's the finest little company
That ever did Squads Right and ran into a tree.
New England, you've got to hand it to us—
Good old Company Four!
'Way up in Plattsburg—that's where they make us soldiers—
They drill us every day.
Damn little time for play,
'Cause when we do not drill we study.
New England number four's our comp'ny,
We're always full of pep.
[108] Now if you want some men for good, hard work
You'll always find this company will never shirk. ”

“ Lord help Kaiser Bill!
In the morning at the warning,
"Clothes on Company Nine!"
Feeling rocky, into khaki
Jumps our valiant line.
We shun strawberries in the valley
Off the Peru road,
But in mess shack none can beat us
[127] At the order "Load!"
In Pabst-less Plattsburg, bone-dry rookies,
Waiting for our kale,
Our healths we drink in foamless bumpers,
Full of Adam's ale.
But when the "Sammies" take their Münchener
On the river Rhine,
The toast will be to old New England
And to Company Nine. ”

“ We'll be singing this song
As we're marching along.
When marching on the Rhine, boys,
On our hunt for Kaiser Bill,
We'll shoot the Germans out of France,
We'll keep them on the run;
When we get there the world will know,
New England has begun,
To fight for Uncle Sammy.
We'll do our best,
And never will rest,
Until Old Glory rises to the sun.
Over the sea, boys,
Over the sea to Victory,
New England will fight on forever.
[135]
EGGS—AGERATED
Since I've come to Plattsburg
I've eaten so many eggs,
That feathers now adorn my skin,
And spurs are on my legs. ”

“ What does it matter?
My little silences slide along the floor . . .
Clamber up my bunk
[42] To grin at me in my loneliness.
Then I think of the millions
Who have none for whom to be lonely,
French, English, German, Russ. . . .
What does it matter the language?
We are all one,
Levelled in solitude.
And I laugh at the silences,
And laugh to see them scurrying back to their corners,
Gibbering.
[43]
THE BALLAD OF MONTMORENCY GRAY
I
Since we came to Plattsburg Training Camp
Upon the 12th of May,
A lot of clever candidates
Have fallen by the way ”

“ If some Reserve Archangel tries to make me stand in line.
[21]
THE FIRST TIME
My legs are moving to and fro
I feel like a balloon;
How my head swims, first time I go
To boss the damn platoon.
My throat and mouth are full of paste
There's nothing in my hat;
My belt is winding round my waist
But where's my stomach at?
[22]
ONWARD CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
Our Christian Science Battery
Without a gun or horse,
Is just a simple oversight,
That will be changed, of course.
But while we're waiting patiently,
And longing for the day,
They have a funny little game
They make us fellows play. ”

“ So, papa, if I can
When I get to be a man,
I want to be a doughboy, too.
[119]
OUR BATTLE HYMN
(Air: "Battle Hymn of the Republic")
I
We have heard a lot about a place they call "Somewhere in France,"
And we're going "Over There" to put some pep in the advance;
"There's a long, long trail before us," but you bet we'll take the chance,
As Five goes marching on.
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, for we're going to beat the Hun,
Old Hindenburg will execute a new strategic run,
And Kaiser Bill will find he has no place beneath the sun,
When Five goes marching on. ”

“ Was not born in New England.
If in a deep wood or desert vast
One would never be lost
With Captain Barnes. He knows
How to orient the landscape
By sun or star.
Lieutenant Meyer is tall,
He holds his hat on
By a strap
Under his chin.
[103] A cyclone couldn't blow it off.
Captain Latrobe came on
From Texas way,
"Sif bofe" his saddle
And himself. He might as well
Have saved the freight on the saddle,
For he has no horse to ride on.
He leads his steedless troop
On charger invisible.
Arnold, Major now, fares better.
His horse is real
And has white feet. ”

“ We are handy with the rifle and the bayonet and such;
And though Fritz is used to running and is sort of hard to touch,
We will show him when we get there that it doesn't matter much,
When Five is marching on.
(Chorus)
III
You may say that we're not modest, but our faults we will confess,
We hate to rise at Reveille, we're not too fond of mess;
And we never, never, never get a good line at Right Dress,
But we do keep marching on.
(Chorus)
IV
Now all you other fellows who are going overseas,
Just remember that we guarantee the foeman to appease ”

“ A simple murder drill.
So I want no women 'round,
When I'm tearin' up the ground,
A shadow-pointin' Boches with my gun-knife.
[65]
OUT O' LUCK
If, in spite of hopes and promises, your pay day doesn't come,
If the sergeant antedates the call, or Friday's fish is bum,
Or the waiter empties soup on you—don't let 'em see you glum.
You're out o' luck, that's all. You're out o' luck.
If you must deploy your skirmish line with nothing in your dome,
Or send supporting picket-lines to countermarch the Somme,
The chances are you've guessed it wrong and "may as well go home." ”

“ A hundred men a-riding where no horses can be seen.
Oh, Colonel dear, ye'll grieve to hear Artillery's the same,
Compared to simulating guns, a horse is rather tame;
[124] Last night I was the left rear wheel—it made me moighty sore,
But dommed if I will be the swab and crawl inside the bore.
'Tis the most amazing spectacle that's ever graced the green,
A-firing rounds and salvos where no cannons can be seen.
[125]
DON'T SEND ME HOME
(Air: Don't Take Me Home)
Don't send me home, please don't send me home. ”

“ So they sent us up to Plattsburg, don't you see?
And the men from all New England came along and gathered there,
And the companies they chose with greatest care.
But out of all the candidates selected but a few
To organize New England Number 2.
(Chorus)
Oh, Captain Peek and Company Two
They'll be names known to fame the whole world o'er.
They will ever be glorious
When the Hohenzollerns reign no more. ”

“ The Infantry, the Infantry, with Dirt Behind Their Ears)
I
The Cavalry, the Cavalry, they haven't any horse,
They're taking riding lessons by a correspondence course,
You'd think they were equestrians to hear the way they talk,
But when it comes to riding, why! We always see them walk.
II
The Cavalry, the Cavalry, are marching down the street,
The Cavalry, the Cavalry, with blisters on their feet,
The Artillery is mounted now and ready for the course;
But we never see the Cavalry with any kind of horse.
[116]
WE'RE ON OUR WAY TO DEUTSCHLAND
(Air: Hit the Line for Harvard) ”

“ H. T. Morgan)
1
On guard! We're always on our toes;
Plattsburg has taught us pep.
We're good at being Red or Blue,
But oh, that step!
Though we may lose a few patrols,
Just watch the Allied drive.
Right where they reach the Rhine, there
You'll find New England Five.
2
Forward! We're on our way to France;
We'll make it hot for Fritz.
With bayonet or rifle,
Watch us score all hits.
Heads up! We're after Hindenburg,
We'll show him we're alive;
When we get through with him, he
Will know New England Five.
[130]
DOUBLE TIME
(Air: Tammany)
Double time, double time! ”

“ And clapped his hands in glee to see his papa start to shoot.
(Chorus)
"O, look at him, Ma-ma, see him hold his gun,
And every time he shoots it off it hits him on the bun.
He puts his hand around the thing and gives an awful pull,
The red flag there is waving, O! it must have been a bull."
[114]
COMPANY 2 NEW ENGLAND
(Air: "Lord Geoffry Amherst")
Oh, good old Uncle Sam declared a war on Kaiser Bill,
When, his pledges "Bill" neglected to fulfill;
And the War Department ordered that a training camp should be,
So they sent us up to Plattsburg, don't you see? ”

“ Munching their finger tips.
I lie stretched flat upon my bunk. . . .
I count the cracks in the pine-boards above me.
I am alone.
These others who fill the air with talk
About right and wrong . . . life and death . . . ”