Praise the Lord & pass the ammunition
28 February 2022
KEITH JACKSON
NOOSA – The American offer to evacuate Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky from Kyiv was not one he wanted, like throwing a no-fly zone across Ukraine air space or blockading the Bosphorus to prevent Russian passage to the Black Sea.
But it did yield the best quote of the Ukraine War so far, Zelensky earning the admiration of most of the world outside the Kremlin with his spirited response, “The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride.”
This reminded me of the lyrics of ‘Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition’, the popular American patriotic song composed by Frank Loesser and published as sheet music in 1942.
It was a response to the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941 that drew the United States’ into World War II.
Down went the gunner, a bullet was his fate
Down went the gunner, and then the gunner's mate
Up jumped the sky pilot, gave the boys a look
And manned the gun himself as he laid aside The Book,
shouting....
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
And we'll all stay free
Praise the Lord and swing into position
Can't afford to be a politician
Praise the Lord, we're all between perdition
And the deep blue sea
Yes the sky pilot said it
Ya gotta give him credit
For a sonofagun of a gunner was he
Shouting Praise the Lord, we're on a mighty mission
All aboard, we ain't a-goin' fishin'
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
And we'll all stay free(Source: Musixmatch)
Imperiled imperium, inputs passé, imparts incursion, ruses Ukraine.
Posted by: Lindsay F Bond | 15 August 2024 at 11:47 AM
The war in Ukraine is complicated by different ideologies and personalities. It's a war that affects innocent civilians and the UN, EU and USA are not doing enough to end it.
Sanctions create more sinister effects because countries support each others to survive in terms of doing business in buying and selling.
The West is talking a lot but Putin does not listen to anyone. Ukraine is brave enough to fight back but help from the West is going at a slow pace.
Let's hope for Divine intervention.
Posted by: Philip Kai Morre | 05 March 2022 at 04:20 PM
With urgency, void of much preparation and with a one-way suicide mission, Russia launched its first animal into space on 3 November 1957. The stray dog Laika went where no man had gone before.
So why did Russian science turn to a dog? It was a political objective then, a matter of great prestige to put a living being into space.
And yet in 2022, Russia decided to release the dogs of war (with an apology to Shakespeare for borrowing for his phrase).
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/11/sixty-years-ago-the-first-creature-went-into-space-a-stray-moscow-dog/
Posted by: Lindsay F Bond | 03 March 2022 at 07:54 AM
So-called precision aimed projectiles impacting sundry places of Ukraine do have effect of appearing less than accurate, unless the objective is to create chaos in the civilian population.
Either indicate targets missed.
Was it that the first Russian to circle the globe in space was a canine? Now it seems Russia is (as some say) going to the dogs.
Posted by: Lindsay F Bond | 02 March 2022 at 07:35 PM
There are known incidents where the padres in US army units felt obliged to pack away the bible and start shooting.
Also, in the case of my father's squadron (100 Squadron, RAAF), it was the padre who invented a simple but ingenious way to check there were no bomb 'hang ups' on the aircraft when they were returning from their missions.
Sometimes, it seems that God moves in mysterious ways.
Posted by: Chris Overland | 28 February 2022 at 09:58 AM
Just on the reach of this Northern Hemisphere and mid-20th Century conflict, some readers may recall the book penned by Neville Shute, 'On the Beach'.
That brought shudders then. Conflict now is utterly inhuman and unnecessary.
Most Australians would opt for a chat around a BBQ at the beach, a beachhead of more warmth and less wariness.
Posted by: Lindsay F Bond | 28 February 2022 at 09:36 AM