#03385
Sammy Ain't You Glad You Joined The Navy
(Johnny Burke)

When I was but a little lad,
'way down in Joe Batts Arm,
At jigging squids I didn't care,
and books I wouldn't "Larn";
I got a job to join a ship,
and didn't give a darn.
Oh, Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the navy?

I jumped on board the Charybdis,
and the Captain shook my hand,
Said I came from Newfoundland,
and I tries to do the grand;
Then he took us to the Governor
who lots of drink did stand.
Oh, Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the navy?

To my he! Ho! The wind do blow!
The wind do howl and the wind do blow;
He! Ho! The wind do blow!
Oh, Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the navy?

When we are in port we always go on shore,
When all our money's spent we go to sea no more,
And the pretty girls we always do adore.
Oh, Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the navy?

To my he! Ho! The wind do blow!
The wind do howl and the wind do blow;
He! Ho! The wind do blow!
Oh, Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the navy?

He took me in the parlor,
and the doctor came around,
He put a trumpet to our breasts
to see if we were sound;
He touched me on the breast,
on the nose, and on the eye.
"You'll do for the Grand Reserve,"
I heard the doctor cry.

Then he got the navy uniform,
and soon he had it on,
The band played us to the wharf,
and soon the ship was gone,
And we missed our girls and sweethearts
and the races on the pond.
Oh, Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the navy?

To my he! Ho! The wind do blow!
The wind do howl and the wind do blow;
He! Ho! The wind do blow!
Oh, Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the navy?

In Halifax one day a dreadful fight arose,
The boys got around us,
and it came to heavy blows;
I met a big policeman
and I struck him on the nose.
Oh, Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the navy?

He took us up before the judge -
we had to wait our turn,
The judge put on his glasses,
and he looked a kind of stern;
Said he, "You came from Newfoundland -
you are too green to burn!"
Oh, Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the navy?

To my he! Ho! The wind do blow!
The wind do howl and the wind do blow;
He! Ho! The wind do blow!
Oh, Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the navy?

We came back in the Glencoe,
and our friends were glad to meet,
The band came down to meet us
and to play us up the street,
With our knee-yops and sailor caps,
I tell you we looked neat.
Oh, Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the navy?

We went to see the Governor,
and he welcomed back the tars,
We left the building smiling
and a-smoking of cigars;
And just as we were leaving
I caught my girl friend's eye:
"You won the boat race, Esau,"
I heard the fair one cry.

To my he! Ho! The wind do blow!
The wind do howl and the wind do blow;
He! Ho! The wind do blow!
Oh, Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the navy?

####.... Composed by Johnny Burke [1851-1930] and sung with great success by the St John's Benevolent Irish Society (BIS) Minstrels ....####
See more songs by Johnny Burke.

This variant was printed on p.31 of the Atlantic Guardian, Vol 13, #04 (April 1956), published by the Atlantic Advocate, St John's, NL, Ewart Young, editor [1913-1968], with the note: "-Murphy's Sealer's Song Book."

Also printed on pp.8-9 of Murphy's Sealers' Song Book, a collection of song lyrics published in 1905 by James Murphy [1867-1931] about sealing, maritime disasters, and life in Newfoundland.

From wikipedia:
Benevolent Irish Society - (BIS) philanthropic organization founded on 17 February 1806, a month before the Feast of St Patrick, in St John's, Newfoundland. It is the oldest philanthropic organization in North America. Membership is open to adult residents of Newfoundland who are of Irish birth or ancestry, regardless of religious persuasion. The BIS is a charitable, fraternal, middle-class social organization founded on the principles of benevolence and philanthropy, and had as its original objective of helping the growing numbers of poor in St John's, and providing the necessary skills which would enable people to better themselves. The headquarters of the BIS, fronting on Queen's Road, backing on Military Road opposite the Basilica, with its side on Garrison Hill, was converted into a condominium residence in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The price of a single condo unit can reach over one million Canadian dollars. The BIS is now based one or two minutes walk west at 30 Harvey Road.

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