The Rookie

Here’s my hat to the rookie, who ain’t never seen a scrap,

Who ain’t never shot a rifle ‘septin’ in a peaceful way;

Who ain’t never pulled a trigger on a single human chap,

But he’s goin’ to be a soldier and a good one in a day.

He is only out of college, he is just from out the store,

He has been a drummer maybe sellin’ goods from place to place;

He is just a plain mechanic or a farmer, nothing more,

But he’s goin’ to be a soldier, an’ a credit to his race.

Here’s a brimmer to the rookie, he will do his share you bet

If they ever get to fightin’ on the plains of Mexico.

He ain’t no seasoned soldier but he’ll scrap just like a vet,

Just becuz he cannot help it an’ cuz nature made him so.

July 3, 1916