a 1918 World War I song words by Stanley Murphy music by Harry Tierney
Sheet Music
Accompaniment
Lyrics
1. When the cruel war came o’er us
I was in the Ziegfeld chorus
With a “John” for ev’ry evening in the week
Ev’ry night some little Chappie
Did his best to make me happy
I was in the seventh heaven so to speak
But then the country called her boys to war
And all my “Johns” were true blue to the core
Chorus
Billy’s busy drillin’ in the infantry
Artie’s in the aviation corps
Fredie’s out there with the field artillery
Franky’s fighting on a foreign shore
Tommy’s on a tank out on the western front
Joe and Jerry both are jolly tars
I’m so lonesome it’s a pity
But I’ve done my little “bitty”
And my little service flag has seven stars
2. I don’t mind if days are meatless
But the subway’s always seatless
And on John-less nights we all go home that way
Wine-less meals of cheese and crackers
With a lot of spineless slackers
Aren’t just the things to make a girlie gay
But when the cruel war is o’er you’ll see
My generals come marching home to me