The Men Behind the Guns

Let's drink a toast to the admiral And here's to the captain bold And glory more for the commodore When the deeds of might are told They stand to the deck through the battle's wreck When the great shells roar and pound And never they fear when the foe is near To lay their orders down But off with your hats and three times three For every sailor's son For the men below who fight the foe The men behind the guns Oh, the men behind the guns Their hearts a-pounding heavy When they swing to port once more With never enough of the greenback stuff They start for the leave ashore And you'd think perhaps the blue-blouse chaps Had better clothes to wear For the uniforms of officers Could hardly be compared Warriors bold with straps of gold That dazzle like the sun Outshine the common sailor boys The lads who serve the guns Oh, the men behind the guns But say not a word till the shot is heard That tells the fight is on And the angry sound of another round Says there must be gun Over the deep and the deadly sweep For the fire and the bursting shell Where the very air is a mad despair The throes of a living hell But down and deep in a mighty ship Unseen by the midday sun Oh, you'll find the boys who make the noise The lads who serve the guns Oh, the men behind the guns And well they know the cyclone blow Loosed from the cannon's steel And they know the hull of the enemy ship Will quiver with the feel And the decks will rock with the lightning shock And shake with the great recoil While the sea grows red with the blood of the dead And swallows up her spoil But not until the final ship Has made her final run Can we give their rest to the very best To the lads who serve the guns Oh, the men behind the guns So, let's drink a toast to the admiral And here's to the captain bold And glory more for the commodore When the deeds of might are told They stand to the deck through the battle's wreck When the great shells roar and pound And never they fear when the foe is near To lay their orders down But off with your hats and three times three For every sailor's son For the men below who fight the foe The men behind the guns Oh, the man behind the gun