There once was the love of a beautiful maid,
And the love of a staunch, true man,
And the love of a baby, unafraid,
All have existed since time began.
But the eternal love,
The love of all loves,
Even greater than love for mother,
Is the infinite, passionate, tender love
Of one drunken Marine for another.
Here’s to you, and here’s to me,
the best of friends we’ll ever be.
But if we ever disagree,
then fuck you, here’s to me.
Here’s to cheating, stealing, fighting, and drinking;
If you cheat, may you cheat death;
If you steal, may you steal a woman’s heart;
If you fight, may you fight for a brother;
If you drink, may you drink with me.
To women, wives, and lovers: may they never meet.
Saint Peter guards those pearly gates,
But Marines don’t like to stand and wait.
We’ll kick them in and storm right through,
With all the hell that Marines can do.
So Lord, just save yourself the time,
Let us in, we’ll fall in line.
Some say blood is thicker than water,
Some say family’s all that matters.
But those who fought and bled as one,
Know brotherhood’s forged in sand and sun.
When shells fall fast and hope runs thin,
It’s Marine to Marine, through thick and thin.
They thought they had us pinned down tight,
Outnumbered in the fading light.
Poor bastards never understood,
Marines fight best where odds aren’t good.
I fucked in the East
I’ve fucked in the west
I’ve fucked the ugliest
and I’ve fucked the best
I’ll never be happy
I’ll never be free
until I’ve fucked the Marine Corps
like the Marine Corps fucked me.
I found this toast in a book of toasts in ’71 when I was at Marine Security Guard School, Henderson Hall, Arlington, Va. I’ve used it many time but this is the first time I’ve seen it anywhere else. Where did you find it?