Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

Wow. Here's a great poem I stumbled across in this old anthology I've been reading lately, it's called "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" and written by Pete Seeger.

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

It was back in nineteen forty-two,
I was part of a good platoon.
We were on maneuvers in Loozianna,
One night by the light of the moon.

The captain told us to ford a river,
and that's how it all begun.
We were knee deep in the Big Muddy,
but the big fool said to push on.

The sergeant said, Sir, are you sure
This is the best way back to the base?
Sergeant, go on; I've forded this river
Just a mile above this place.

It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging
We'll soon be on dry ground.
We were waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

The sergeant said, Sir, with all this equipment
No man'll be able to swim.
Sergeant, don't be a nervous nellie
The captain said to him.

All we need is a little determination
Men, follow me, I'll lead on.
We were neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

All at once, the moon clouded over
We heard a gurgling cry
A few seconds later, the captain's helmet
Was all that floated by.

The sergeant said, turn around men
I'm in charge from now on
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the captain dead and gone.

We stripped and dived and found his body
Stuck in the old quicksand.
I guess he didn't know the water was deeper
Than the place he'd once before been

Another stream had joined the Big Muddy
Just a half mile from where we'd gone.
We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy
When the big fool said to push on.

Well, I'm not going to draw any moral,
I'll leave that to yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
And you'd like to keep your health

But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on:
We're waste deep in the Big Muddy
And the Big Fool says to push on.

---Pete Seeger