History & Politics

Marching to Berlin

by Oliver Herford 1863–1935

From The Laughing Willow (1918)

History & Politics

We come from God’s own country in the ships of Uncle Sam;
We’re going to get the william-goat of Kaiser Will—i—am;
We know it is verboten, but we do not give a damn,
As we go marching to Berlin!
(Drums) Berlin! Berlin!
Berlin! Berlin! Berlin!
As we go marching to Berlin!

Refrain

Hurray! Hurray! We’ll wave the Stripes and Stars!
Away, away with Emperors and Czars!
And when we get the Kaiser we’ll put him behind the bars,
As we go marching to Berlin!
(Drums) Berlin! Berlin! etc.

We’re from the dear old U. S. A., the Land of Liberty;
We’ve crossed a hundred rivers and three thousand miles of sea
To teach the Huns a thing or two about Democracy,
As we go marching to Berlin!
(Drums) Berlin! Berlin! etc.

Refrain

Hurray! Hurray! We’ll show the Prussian swine
That Freedom is the only Right Divine,
And when we catch old Kaiser Bill we’ll pitch him in the Rhine,
As we go marching to Berlin!
(Drums) Berlin! Berlin! etc.

We’ve left our happy homes that we may help to win the war.
We’re a million strong already, and there’ll soon be millions more;
And when the job is done with Kaiser Bill we’ll mop the floor,
As we go marching to Berlin!
(Drums) Berlin! Berlin! etc.

Refrain

Hurray! Hurray! We’re going to make it hot
For all the bloody Hohenzollern lot,
And when we get the Kaiser we’ll present him to his Gott,
As we go marching to Berlin!
(Drums) Berlin! Berlin!
Berlin! Berlin! Berlin!
As we go marching to Berlin!

MLA

Herford, Oliver. “Marching to Berlin.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/herford/159/.

Chicago

Herford, Oliver. “Marching to Berlin.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/herford/159/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

More by Oliver Herford