Salute To A Switchblade(Chords)

	        E 
Me and Yates, an Army buddy of mine  
      A                    B7             E  
We?re doing three years in Germany at the time  
   E 
We came upon these Frauleins in a bar  
             A                B7                   E 
Yates said, 'Darf Ich sie begleiten?'; they said, 'Ya.'  
B7                                    E 
(And 'Darf Ich sie begleiten?' means, 'Can we sit with you all?')  
 
Oh, we must have drunk ten quarts of German beer  
My conscience and my sinuses were clear  
I asked that Fraulein if she was a spy  
She said, 'Nein, but Du bist ein bissel high.'  
(A condition not uncommon to the American soldier)  
 
Well, later on I went to be excused  
When I returned I was a bit confused  
Yates and his Fraulein had hit the air  
Another guy was sitting in my chair  
(A young soldier whom we shall get to know better)  
 
I said, 'Excuse me mister that's my seat  
I'd like to have it back sir if you please  
That girl's a nurse and I've been awful sick.'  
The man looked up at me and said, 'Mox Nix'  
(Which means that he was not overly concerned with my health)  
 
 
Key of F (F  Bb, C7) 
 
Next thing I knew he had a switchblade knife  
Lord, I didn't know that Fraulein was his wife  
I took off through that Gasthaus like a fool  
Behind me I heard the crashing stools  
(As the police would say, he was in hot pursuit)  
 
Well, the waitress yelled, 'There's MPs on the way!'  
That's one more reason I didn't want to stay  
As I went out the window something went 'Swish'  
And I giggled all the way home knowing he'd missed  
(At the time it seemed like a laughing matter)  
 
But next morning my coat was lying there on the bunk  
And when I saw that coat it made me jump  
That man had cut my coat right down the back  
A little bit more and they'd-a-been playing me Taps  
(And knowing the sad nature of that song, I would decline it)  
 
Well, later on I heard that guy got stabbed  
They sent him home and didn't that make me glad  
On love and marriage I want to say one thing  
Oh, lady if you're married wear that ring  
 
And the Army has a new policy: If you can't move it, paint it  
If it has a switchblade knife, salute it  
Not necessarily an incident one would want to write Mother about  
Germany being full of good soldiers, and good people 
a 
  
 

	        

Written by Tom T. Hall