Semper Fi

My father met Eleanor Roosevelt In nineteen forty-five The war was finally over then And they were still alive

Her husband was the president 'Til he ran out of time Her Franklin D. was history And they put him on the dime

My father joined the leathernecks To stay out of the mine The new marine was just sixteen In nineteen thirty-nine

There were medals and malaria The South Pacific War Through jungles that were paradise And were paradise no more

Soldiers fight and soldiers die Soldiers live to wonder why Semper fi, fe-fo-fum Look out peacetime, here we come

Some of the men who did survive Were not the lucky ones War is only good for those Who make and sell the guns

My father lay recovering The hurt was all inside Sometimes the wounds that never heal Are the easiest to hide

When Eleanor came bearing gifts To San Francisco Bay She gave my dad a blanket In the hospital that day

That blanket meant a lot to him My mother has it still Some forget the kindnesses That others never will

Soldiers fight and soldiers die Soldiers live to wonder why Semper fi, fe-fo-fum Look out peacetime, here we come