“Quaint little Navy Poem from WWII…”

 

You make with a swab

And not with a mop,

Topside, not upstairs

To get to the top,

You stand on the deck,

Though it’s green with grass,

And it’s chow, not food

You get with your pass,

Boat is to ship

As hill is to mountain:

And you drink from a scuttlebutt,

Not from a fountain.

The gentlemen’s lounge

Is known as the head,

You sleep in your rack

And not in your bed.

You stow your gear,

Not put things away,

And say “Squared Away”

Instead of O.K.

It’s port and it’s starboard,

Not left and right:

A rope is a line

And a loop is a bight.

You square your hat

When you make it round.

You hit the deck

At the bugle’s sound.

But our favorite phrase

That phrase of dreams

Comes, payday, then

The Eagle Screams!

 

--The Bainbridge Mainsheet,

U.S. Naval Training Station