A 1912 popular song.
Words and music by Irving Berlin.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- Sherman and Washington were fighting men
Hip, hip hurray for them, then hip, hip again
Grant and Lee in history
Proved they were true born fighting soldiers
Dewey, Hobson and Schley as well
Were heroes at every go
While on the subject, I’d like to tell
Of a real live soldier I know
Chorus
When he was three years old he wanted a pistol
Like a soldier man
At the age of twenty he went to the war
And fought as a soldier only can
When the war was over he came home again
And married a girl named Ann
Now he stays at home and fights with his wife
There’s a true born soldier man
- Many a fellow went to war, and then
Thought of his wife and never came back again
Each one swore, a real live war
Is nothing compared to being married
War only lasts for a year or three
And that’s why this man took a wife
Just to make sure of a battle he
Went and married to fight for life
Sung here by Vancha March: