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The Night Before
Christmas, 1963 by Buck Conrad
T'was the night before
Christmas, 1963,
and as usual we're on patrol, underway at sea.
The boats submerged at 66 ft
and the Cook's busy preparing our Christmas
treat.
We're creeping along
at all ahead 1/3,
because of something sonar reported he heard.
The boats rigged for quiet so don't make no noise,
well, I guess old Santa can't bring us our
toys.
Well that figures,
sonar does that a lot.
It must be those fancy new earphones he got.
The Navigators sweatin cause the posit report is late
and he is shaking so bad he's in quite a
state,
Cause the Captain is a
stickler for doin things right
and he ain't cutting no slack even on this holy night.
The boat's rigged for red and it's really quite purty
cause when we're rigged for red we don't look so
dirty.
No ones had a bird
bath in about 3 weeks
cause the engineer says both the stills have big leaks.
Hogan's Alley is really startin to smell
what with diesel fumes, dirty socks and hot bunks, oh well
!
We all volunteered for
the Silent Service
and we're proud of the Dolphins we wear,
but sometimes I'd like to be able to bathe
and wash the filth from my hair.
The Posit reports done
and been taken below
I'll just enter the position in the log and then I'll
go,
but I'm gonna hang my sock on the ole' TDC
in the hopes that St. Nicholas won't forget
me.
I go below to get in
the my bunk to get some needed rest
my bunk mates left it warm for me to that I can attest.
Before I sleep I say a prayer and thank God for this special
day
and thank him for others like me that keep the wolves at
bay.
I may not be with my
family on this most holy day,
but they understand it's the price we pay
to live in the good ole' USA.
Maybe some day when I'm old and grey
and have grown wise in almost every way,
I'll think back and say in that wisdom I surely will
possess,
hey, Santa, I'm
a'shore now and not on that ole SS.
There ain't no ping jockey listening for some faraway
noise
that's gonna prevent you from bringing my big bag of
toys.
So, come on Santa we're waitin' on you, my sweet grandkids
and me
cause I'm at home this Christmas, by God's will, and not on
patrol at sea.
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