| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | July 2 | | The Men behind the Guns | | By John Jerome Rooney (1866–1934) |
| | | A CHEER and salute for the admiral, and here’s to the captain bold, | |
| And never forget the commodore’s debt when the deeds of night are told! | |
| They stand to the deck thro’ the battle’s wreck, when the great shells roar and screech,— | |
| And never they fear when the foe is near to practise what they preach; | |
| But off with your hat and three times three for Columbia’s true-blue sons,— | 5 |
| The men below who batter the foe—the men behind the guns! | |
| Oh, light and merry of heart are they when they swing into port once more, | |
| When, with more than enough of the “green-backed stuff,” they start for their leave-o’-shore; | |
| And you’d think perhaps, that the blue-bloused chaps who loll along the street | |
| Are a tender bit, with salt on it, for some “mustache” to eat— | 10 |
| Some warrior bold, with straps of gold, who dazzles and fairly stuns | |
| The modest worth of the sailor boys,—the lads who serve the guns. | |
| |
| But say not a word till a shot is heard that tells the fight is on, | |
| Till the long deep roar grows more and more from the ships of “Yank” and “Don,” | |
| Till over the deep the tempests sweep of fire and bursting shell, | 15 |
| And the very air is a mad Despair in the throes of a living hell; | |
| Then down, deep down, in the mighty ship, unseen by the midday suns, | |
| You’ll find the chaps who are giving the raps,—the men behind the guns! | |
| |
| Oh, well they know how the cyclones blow that they loose from their cloud of wrath, | |
| And they know is heard the thunder-word their fierce ten-inchers saith! | 20 |
| The steel decks rock with the lightning shock, and shake with the great recoil, | |
| And the sea grows red with the blood of the dead and reaches for its spoil,— | |
| But not till the foe has gone below, or turns his prow and runs, | |
| Shall the voice of peace bring sweet release to the men behind the guns! | | | | |
|
|
