1846
And we come from Fort Leavenworth
Young West Point cadets
Sailing south the Rio Mississippi
To the port of New Orleans
Living in such hostile times
Between two bellicose nation-states
What is Manifest Destiny?
But white man’s insanity
Set, sail, south, to Corpus Christi Bay
Plant, flags, on, Saint Joseph’s Island
March, drill, endure the heat and the snakes
As, young, boys, die of dysentery
And so we camp along the Nueces
As General Taylor receives his orders from the President
To cross, invade, and draw fire
Draw blood, a Thornton Affair
Build breastworks, a weapons depot on Point Isabel
And a graver insult, one we call, Fort Texas
So we awaken to the sound of cannons blasting
As a war is christened with the blood
Of Major Brown
Palo Alto
Resaca de la Palma
Contra Arista
In 1846
Hurry up and wait
With the whores and riff raff in Matamoros
Follow Jefferson Davis to Camargo
As the mockingbirds sing our death songs
Onward to Monterrey
I guess Ol’ Rough and Ready wasn’t so ready
People will defend their homes now
Heavy street fighting from the rooftops
Men ripped apart by grape and canister
Victory, even if it’s Pyrrhic
And so we march to the unholy mountain
The one with a “Buena Vista”
There we wait ever so impatiently
For the bastardo, himself…
Santa Anna!
Onward!
To Tampico
With General Scott
To Veracruz
For we are,
The invading North