You Can Tell That He's An American 1918

by James Pitt-Payne, London UK - 25 Feb 2010
2010

How can you tell a soldier's rank or station?
They look so much the same
How can you tell their names?
Look at the uniforms of ev'ry nation,
How are you going to start?
Telling the boys apart?
I asked a pal of mine the other day,
He winked his eye and then I heard him say,

You can tell that he's an Englishman,
if he always wears a cane,
You can tell a Frenchman too,
by his uniform of blue,
Italians look very much the same;
If he's Irish or a Scot,
sure it doesn't matter what,
the uniform most always tell the man;
but if you see a soldier
with a couple of girls on his arm,
you can tell that he's an American.

You can tell that he's an Englishman,
if he always wears a cane,
Ev'ry nationality,
has its army o'er the sea,
and ev'ry man that's in it plays the game;
If he has a battle scar,
and he wears a wounded bar,
it's plain to see that he's a fighting man;
but if you meet a soldier
who has never been licked in his life,
You can tell that he's an American.

Look at the aviators who are flying.
all of them wear the wings
medals and other things,
You'll learn to tell them all if you keep trying,
Tho' you are in the dark,
ev'ryone has a mark;
there's not much I can say to put you wise,
The thing that you must do is use your eyes.

You can tell that he's an Englishman,
if he always wears a cane,
You can tell a Frenchman too,
by his uniform of blue,
Italians look very much the same;
If he's Irish or a Scot,
sure it doesn't matter what,
the uniform most always tell the man;
but if you see a soldier
with a couple of girls on his arm,
you can tell that he's an American.

You can tell that he's an Englishman,
if he always wears a cane,
Ev'ry nationality,
has its army o'er the sea,
and ev'ry man that's in it plays the game;
If he has a battle scar,
and he wears a wounded bar,
it's plain to see that he's a fighting man;
but if you meet a soldier
who has never been licked in his life,
You can tell that he's an American.

Soft karaoke
Words
piano 1
piano 2
piano 3
piano 4
lyric
pizz str bass
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You Can Tell That He's An American 1918
Music by Percy Wenrich
Lyrics by Howard Johnson
© MCMXVIII by Leo Feist Inc. - N.Y.
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sequence & karaoke by James Pitt-Payne, london UK
on Thursday 25 February 2010 at 10.45
in association with Veda Meyer-Castens
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