Hospital Ship Song

DESCRIPTION: "Oh messmates the Maine is a wonderful sight When she steams out of Alex. with lamps on at night. We know where we're bound for and where we will go.... We chased the Eighth Army on Africa's shore," then head back to port and rest
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1983 (Tawney-GreyFunnelLines-RoyalNavy)
KEYWORDS: ship sailor
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Tawney-GreyFunnelLines-RoyalNavy, pp. 96-97, "Hospital Ship Song" (1 text, tune referenced)
NOTES [112 words]: The Maine had "lamps on at night" because hospital ships were supposed to be lit so that enemy ships could identify them. It didn't always work, but generally the Axis respected the hospital ships.
After the fall of Crete, Malta was Britain's only real base in the Mediterranean between Gibraltar and Alexandria in Egypt (here called "Alex.").
The Eighth Army was the British army in Egypt that fought German general Rommel in the Desert War in the seesaw campaigns leading up to the British victory at El Alamein. This campaign went back and forth for years, which might explain why the Maine went back and forth. But there are no real dating clues in the song. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.1
File: Tawn073

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