slicker than owl s__t.
be on you faster than duck on a june bug.
good god , good grub, good gracious lets eat.
and when there is beans on the table:
amen and pass the the ammo.
Thought you might like to read the story behind the quote "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition".
Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition
Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" is an American patriotic song written by Frank Loesser and published as sheet music in 1942 by Famous Music Corp. The song was a response to the attack on Pearl Harbor that marked United States involvement in World War II. On December 7, 1941 ? which President Franklin D. Roosevelt would memorably name ?a date which will live in infamy? on the following day ? hundreds of Japanese warplanes made a deadly surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
When the crew of the heavy cruiser USS New Orleans rushed on deck they saw devastation all around them. Not far away, a huge cloud of smoke was rising from the battleship USS Arizona and it was sinking. Beyond the Arizona, the USS Oklahoma was rolling over. Sailors were jumping from its sides. Another nearby battleship, the USS West Virginia, was badly damaged and sagging amidships.
The New Orleans was docked for repairs when the attack occurred. As usual during repairs, the ship?s electricity was temporarily coming through a power cable from the shore. Soon after they came on deck, the crew began firing the cruiser?s guns at Japanese planes. But when they needed more ammunition they discovered that the power cable to shore had been cut, making the electric ammunition hoist inoperable.
Undeterred, the men formed lines and began carrying the heavy shells to the guns by hand. As they did, ship chaplain Lieutenant Howell M. Forgy walked along the deck encouraging them, shouting ?Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!? The Japanese pilots eventually flew away after sinking nine U.S. ships and damaging 21 others. Their attack killed 2,350 Americans, including 1,177 sailors on the USS Arizona.
The next day, America officially entered World War II.
In the months that followed, word spread about the memorable line shouted by a chaplain during the Pearl Harbor attack. It's the title of a song by Frank Loesser, and is a reference to a chaplain who allegedly walked among the sailors of the USS New Orleans, while they were engaged in battle with the Japanese at Pearl Harbor on the "day that will live in infamy". Sailors report that he was patting the men on their shoulders and telling them to "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition."
The song describes a chaplain ("sky pilot") being with some fighting men who are under attack from an enemy. He is asked to say a prayer for the men who were engaged in firing at the oncoming planes. The chaplain puts down his Bible, mans one of the ship's gun turrets and begins firing back, saying,
"Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition".
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, you gotta give him credit
For a son of a gun 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'
According to writer Jack S. McDowell, the famous phrase is generally credited to "a chaplain," said to be manning the guns of a ship under attack.
For some time, long after Pearl Harbor, stories and reports surfaced about an incident involving this apocryphal "sky pilot", who was said to have uttered the words "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition".
The stories eventually made their way through the servicemen and back to the press. This, as McDowell noted, led some writers to erroneously identify other chaplains as author of the phrase. Nonetheless, the real chaplain, Howell Forgy, was aboard the USS New Orleans during the Japanese attack. He was a Lieutenant that Sunday morning in December, 1941.
An officer in charge of an ammunition line on the USS New Orleans during the attack said that, "I heard a voice behind me saying, 'Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.' I turned and saw Chaplain Forgy walking toward me, along the line of men. He was patting them on the back and making that remark to cheer and keep them going. I know it helped me a lot, too."
Another lieutenant said that thereafter, when the men heard the song, they would kid Chaplain Forgy about the role he played, encouraging him to set the record straight about who actually said what. According to the same officer the chaplain would decline, modestly claiming he felt, "... the episode should remain a legend, rather than be associated with any particular person." Author McDowell noted that reporters eventually were permitted to interview the men of the USS New Orleans involved in the "ammunition" story. Chaplain Forgy's superior officers set up a meeting with members of the press and at last, the real story of the song and the man who had inspired it was confirmed.
Presumably the "Praise the Lord" was in thanks for having spared these lives during the initial attack on Pearl Harbor which, of course, killed many. "Pass the ammunition" is clearly a reminder that, after taking that moment to praise the lord, there remained work to be done, namely, fighting off the ongoing attack.
"Pass the ammunition" is clearly a reminder that, after taking that moment to praise the lord, there remained work to be done, namely, fighting off the ongoing attack.
