Any Complaints?
DESCRIPTION: "When I joined the army a few weeks ago, I left a good home to come here." The food is terrible and keeps getting worse. They should give it to the Nazis. The orderlies ask, "Tell me, boys, have you any complaints?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (The Singing Island)
KEYWORDS: soldier hardtimes
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Palmer-WhatALovelyWar, p. 46, "Any Complaints?" (1 text)
Roud #2564
NOTES [56 words]: Ewan MacColl claimed to have learned this in 1940 from soldiers of the King's Liverpool Regiment. Certainly possible. But MacColl (who was then still Jimmy Miller) was utterly disgusted with his army service and on the path toward desertion. One wonders if he might not have contributed a little, or a lot, or the whole, of the test. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.2
File: PWLW046
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