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Us For Sam
by Pat O'CotterWhile all Europe is a shambles
And the whole world is at war,
And half the land the sun shines on
Is drenched in human gore;
When every Nation counts the men
It knows are tried and true
We send this message to you, Sam,
"Alaska stands with you."
You never treated us quite right--
You grabbed away our coal,
You reserved all our fire wood
And what we've used, we've stole.
You soaked us on our cable tolls
But we don't give a damn
Even at twenty-eight cents per word
WE'RE WITH YOU, UNCLE SAM.
You've squandered untold millions
On the filthy Philippines,
But you always made Alaskans
Go and rustle for their beans.
And your black and tan possessions
Tho they've cost you quite a few
Can never be depended on,
While we'd go thru Hell for you.
We're quite unused to luxuries
And we've always played alone,
When we asked for help to build our trails
You handed us a stone.
You've four-flushed on the railroads
But we don't care a damn,
If they monkey with the Eagle
WE'RE WITH YOU, UNCLE SAM.
You gave us lief to make some laws
Then tied our hands behind;
That gift to us was just the same
As pictures to the blind.
Your laws all have a "joker,"
Made to catch some Sourdough,
And it's hard to beat the game, Sam,
The way it's framed up down below.
We've always been the dumping ground
For your political misfits,
But Sam, if you're in trouble
We're willing to call it "quits."
We've never had an even break,
But we don't care a damn;
If the Lion growls, remember this,
WE'RE WITH YOU, UNCLE SAM.
We're used to meeting troubles
And if you put us to the test
You'll find Alaska loves you, Sam,
Far better than the rest.
But Sam, when this is over,
As morning follows night,
Pray give us your attention
And set some matters right.
We need some decent cable rates,
We need some decent mails,
We need some decent coast lights
And we need some decent trails.
You've given these to all the rest
But we don't care a damn;
If it's full grown men you're needing
WE'RE WITH YOU, UNCLE SAM.