War, the Liberator, and Other Pieces/Sniper Sandy

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SNIPER SANDY

(Sergeant Alexander Macdonald, Killed in Action at Beaumont-Hamel, November 18th, 1916)

Tune—“Sister Susie sewing shirts for soldiers”

SANDY MAC the sniper is a-sniping from his loop-hole,
With a telescopic rifle he is looking for a Hun.
If he sees a sniper lurking, or a working-party working,
At once he opens fire on them, and bags them every one.
And when you come into our trench, by night-time or by day,
We take you to his loop-hole, and we point to him and say—

Chorus
Chorus—“Sniper Sandy’s slaying Saxon soldiers,
Chorus—And Saxon soldiers seldom show but Sandy slays a few,
Chorus—And every day the Bosches put up little wooden crosses
Chorus—In the cemetery for Saxon soldiers Sniper Sandy slew.”

Now in the German trenches there’s a sniper they call Hermann,
A stout and stolid Saxon with a healthy growth of beard,
And Hermann with his rifle is the pride of every German,
Until our Sandy gets on him, and Hermann gets afeared,
For when he hears the bullets come he slides down to the ground,
And tremblingly he gasps out to his comrades all around—

Chorus—“Sniper Sandy’s slaying Saxon soldiers,
ChorusAnd Saxon soldiers seldom show but Sandy slays a few,
ChorusAnd every day the Bosches put up little wooden crosses
ChorusIn the cemetery for Saxon soldiers Sniper Sandy slew.”

The Seaforths got so proud of Sandy’s prowess with his rifle,
They drew up a report on him and sent it to the Corps,
And ninety-seven was his bag—it doesn’t seem a trifle—
But Sandy isn’t certain that it wasn’t rather more,
And when Sir John French heard of it, he broke into a laugh,
And rubbed his hands and chuckled to the Chief of General Staff—

Chorus—“Sniper Sandy,” etc.