I jumped right in and I crossed the sea And I done my bit in the infantry For Freedom's flag and Freedom's shore, The rights of little nations, or Whatever it was we was fightin' for. I wasn't none of your second loots -- I was just the guy that the gunner shoots. For you got to have in a war like that Some privates, too, when the guns rat-tat For the folks to do their shootin' at. The general he got bigger pay But I guess I was needed, in a way; For at half-past four or half-past three In the cold gray dawn when a shell went whee-e The guy it was lookin' for was me. I was Private Hill when I went in, And a private I come out ag'in. I didn't git no croy de gore, But I ain't mad and I ain't sore -- It's enough for me that I won the war. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest... |