Re: OT: Ridin' tall on the Santiago Canyon Road (was Re: What could

Chuck Stevens wrote:
> "Pete Dashwood" <dashwood@enternet.co.nz> wrote in message
> news:4eli6aF1ek529U1@individual.net...
>
> 
>
> 
>
>
> Well, the US military doggerel that came to mind at the time begins "This 
is
> my rifle; this is my gun ..." and I think that was pretty much
> service-independent.
>
> And among the other branches of the military, the Navy has often and long
> been the target of jokes about guys being cooped up alone together for lon
g,
> long periods of time ... which bears some relationship to the ancient wisd
om
> of the sea "Any port in a storm ..."
>
> Given all that, it does lead me to wonder whether the images that sprang t
o
> mind for Gilbert when he penned "When the balls whistle free o'er the brig
ht
> blue sea / We stand to our guns all day" would necessarily be those that
> would spring to mind today for your average (American, at least) swabbie
> hearing these lines for the first time, regardless of the gender or
> orientation of said swabbie  ...
>
While First Lord of Admiralty, circa 1940, in response to one of his
admirals whining on about naval tradition, Winnie responded, "Naval
Tradition ? Rum, sodomy and the lash !".

Jimmy