Peter, Paul & Mary - Semper Fi lyrics

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