Vintage Audio - I'm Gonna Pin My Medal On The Girl I Left Behind
Reproduced below are the lyrics to the American wartime song I'm Gonna Pin My Medal on the Girl I Left Behind.
Featured in the smash hit 1918 musical Ziegfeld Follies the patriotic song was written by the prolific Irving Berlin.
Use the player above to listen to a version of the song performed by the Peerless Quartet in 1918.
I'm Gonna Pin My Medal on the Girl I Left Behind
First Verse
"Over there" in France
In a big advance
Little Johnny stood the test
Johnny held his ground
Now he struts around
With a medal on his chest
There's a happy look in his eyes
And ev'ry now and then he cries:
Chorus
I'm gonna pin my medal on the girl I left behind
She deserves it more than I
For the way she said "goodbye"
You should have seen her try to keep away
the tears that blind
A braver hero
Would be hard to find
She puts a smile in ev'ry letter she signs
But I can read what's in her heart between the lines
And when I get back
Yes, when I get back
I'm gonna pin my medal on the girl I left behind
Second Verse
When the boys come home
From across the foam
To the girls they love the best
There'll be more than one
Little Yankee son
With a medal on his chest
When the drive is over this Spring
A lot of soldier boys will sing:
"Lance corporal bacon" was the name used by Anzac soldiers to describe very fatty bacon with a sliver of lean meat running through it.
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