Hall Tom T: Salute to a switchblade

Me and Yates an army buddy o'mine were doin' three years in Germany at the timeWe came upon these Frauleins in the barYates said darf isch zee be-gleit-en they said ya(And darf isch zee be-gleit-en means can we sit with you all)Oh we must have drunk ten quarts of German beerMy conscience and my sinuses were clearI asked that Fraulein if she was a spy she said nein but do bis ain bissel high(A condition not uncommon to the American soldier)Well later on I went to be excused when I returned I was a bit confusedYates and his Fraulein had hit the air another guy was sittin' in my chair(A young soldier whom we shall get to know better)I said excuse me Mister that's my seat I'd like to have it back sir if you pleaseThat girl's a nurse and I've been awful sick the man looked up at me and said mox-nix(Which means that he was not overly concerned with my health)Next thing I knew he had a switchblade knifeLord I didn't know that Fraulein was his wifeI took off through that Gasthaus like a fool behind me I heard the crashing stools(As the police would say he was in hot pursuit)Well the waitress yelled there's MPs on the wayThat's one more reason I didn't want to stayAs I went out the window somethin' went switchAnd I giggled all the way home knowin' he missed(At the time it seemed like a laughing matter)But next morning my coat was lyin' there on the bunkAnd when I saw that coat it made me jumpThat man had cut my coat right down the backA little bit more and they'd been playin' me taps(And knowin' the sad nature of that song I would decline it)Well later on I heard that guy got stabbedThey sent him home and didn't that make me gladOn love and marriage I want to say one thing oh lady if you're married wear that ring(And the army has a new policy if you can't move it paint itIf it has a switchblade knife salute itNot necessarily an incident one would want to write Mother aboutGermany being full of good soldiers good people)