The Army ordinance song, 1941.
Words and music by Irving Berlin.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- On land and on the sea and in the air
We’ve got to be there
We’ve got to be there
America is sounding her alarms
We’ve got to have arms
We’ve got to have arms
Chorus
Arms for the love of America
They speak in a foreign land
With weapons in ev’ry hand
Whatever they try we’ve got to reply
In language that they understand
Arms for the love of America
And for the love of ev’ry mother’s son
Who’s depending on the work that must be done
By the man, behind the man, behind the gun
- They’re in the camps and in the training schools
Now give them the tools
They’ve got to have tools
We called them from the factories and farms
Now give them the arms
They’ve got to have arms
Chorus
Arms for the love of America
We’ve got to get in the race
And work at a lively pace
They say over here we’ve nothing to fear
But let’s get ready just in case
Arms for the love of America
And for the love of ev’ry mother’s son
Oh the fight for freedom can be lost or won
By the man, behind the man, behind the gun
Sung here by Laurence Rubenstein: