Life, 1918-08-29 · page 5 of 34
Life — August 29, 1918 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top poem satirizes recruitment messaging during World War I. It mocks the romanticized depiction of sailors, questioning whether enlisting is truly worthwhile. The speaker claims to have enlisted because "The tide runs free"—suggesting sailors enlist for freedom or adventure rather than patriotic duty, which undercuts propaganda promoting military service as noble. The bottom cartoon, captioned "On the Banks of the Marne / 'Take it from me, Alphonse, that boy can and will fight,'" depicts dogs wearing military insignia, likely representing British and German forces during WWI combat. This anthropomorphized commentary appears to satirize how nations breed their populations for warfare, treating soldiers like trained animals destined to fight.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Sailor’s Chantey ID you ever see a soldier with a lady on his arm? Oh, yes 's not extremely rare! Did you ever see a sailor who could not that lady charm? Oh, no!—providing he was there! For the sailor's eye’s a roving eye that needs no prism glass Fo get its proper focus when it's spying of a lass. Oh, the soldier's stock is rising, but the sailor heads his class ! So a bunk upon the brine Is good snough for mine— That's the reason I enlisted where The sea dogs whine! Did you ever see a soldier looking lonesome as a fish? Oh, yes!—the last one that I saw! Did you ever see a sailor that you didn't hear a swish? Oh, no!—and sometimes three or four For the sailor's knot’s a lover’s knot that's tied in every port It's a puny kind of Jackie who can't capture what you've caught! Oh, there’s something in his rolling So a bunk upon the ses Is good enough for me— That's the reason I enlisted where The tide runs free! Mabel Haughton Collyer. ita soldier isn’t taught! ON THE BANKS OF THE MARNE “TAKE IT FROM ME, ALPHONSE, THAT BOY CAN AND WILL FIGHT” comicbooks.com