* THE NAVAL BRIGADE *
When you're pickin’ your men for a fight,
When choosin’ the corps that'll serve,
It's only quite proper an’ right
To fix upon muscle an’ nerve,
An’ so, to your heavy Dragoons —
Your Granny-dear Guards an’ their band —
To your Sappers with bridgin’ pontoons,
You can buckle the Lower Deck Hand!
( The Lower Deck Hand
Does n't want any band;
He's grit, an he's sand
Is the Lower Deck Hand. )
His march is a go-as-you-please;
He most keeps step with hisself!
For his boots ai n't conducive to ease,
Bein’ mostly kept packed on a shelf!
Tho’ he is n't so span or so spic —
Tho’ his marchin’ ai n't what you'd call grand —
He gets to the front just as quick
Does the elegant Lower Deck Hand!
( The Lower Deck Hand
Was n't reared in the Strand;
But he's good to command,
Is the Lower Deck Hand. )
You may swear by the jolly marines,
‘ Per marey, per tarey’ they fight —
Not speakin’ for them in their‘ teens —
I do n't mind admittin’ your right.
But all that the Joey has got,
As I'd have all the world understand,
He's learnt — well, he's learnt quite a lot
From his tooter — the Lower Deck Hand!
( The Lower Deck Hand
Is a mine that's unpanned;
An’ he's yours to command,
Is the Lower Deck Hand. )
He does n't shape well at Reviews,
I've known him to spit in the ranks;
But we've never been asked to excuse
A fault, when he's guarding the flanks.
An’ when there's a break in the square
Or a place where the Line cannot stand,
I'll tell you the chap to put there —
‘ Jack Mullow’ — the Lower Deck Hand.
( The Lower Deck Hand
Will die as he‘ ll stand;
He's tempered an land,
Is the Lower Deck Hand. )
When you're hemmed in a tight little hole,
By a greatly outnumbering foe,
It's a matter of stokin’ an’ coal
How far we're away from the foe.
When the Infantry's needin’ some aid,
When the‘ tillery gets under-man'd,—
Make way for the Naval Brigade!—
His Highness the Lower Deck Hand!
( The Lower Deck Hand
With his guns he can land,
An he'll kick up some sand,
Will the Lower Deck Hand. )