by Cpl. Robert L. Cook
Jan. 1942~Sept. 1945
Now retirement ain’t
What it’s cracked up to be.
Oh, there are places you can go to see
But if you ain’t got the dough
Then Buddy, you don’t go.
Retirement ain’t what it’s
Cracked up to be.
I tell all the young’uns
That I know
To save up a lot of dough
‘Cause the days ahead
Twix now and dead
May be leaner and meaner
Than you know.
Yeah, retirement ain‘t
What it’s cracked up to be.
Now, I remember back
Some years ago
That I gave no thought
To needin’ dough.
I was havin’ fun,
Always on the run,
As a Marine
I was all gung-ho.
Retirement ain’t what
It’s cracked up to be.
And then one day
It caught me unaware,
The Corps said to me,
Take care!
I was taken off the roll,
Told to take a stroll;
I was finished
With the life I’d led,
So, retirement ain’t
What it’s cracked up to be.
So, hear me as I despair,
Do not be taken
Unaware.
Put some money
In your sock,
Bury it beneath a rock
Or buy some good stock
So when you need it
It will be there,
'Cause retirement
Ain’t what it’s cracked up
To be.
* * *
About the author: Robert Cook served with Reg. Weapons Co.(2d-2d) from 1942~44, at Guadalcanal
and Tarawa, during a 33-month overseas tour.
