(Stuart Hamblen)
Me and that navy ain`t speakin`
At sailin` I tell you I`m through
On the advice of a doc I got me a shock
I had to have somethin` to do.
These nerves I got are from soakin` too long
When the ship got hit by a plane
And right here about four years back
I met Grasshopper MacClain.
The sun was a burnin` and the desert red hot
When his mother drove in with a flat
She went inside to cool off with a beer
And I saw her kid in the back.
He lay on the seat in the swelterin` heat
With hair the color of flame
A red headed mite but smilin` and bright
Was little ol` Grasshopper MacClain.
I fixed her tyre and was totin` him round
When she asked me how much she owed
I just laughed and said boy I settle for him
And to my surprice she drove off down the road.
I figured she`d sober and come hurryin` back
But for three long years she never came
And all that time I was mother and dad
To little ol` Grasshopper MacClain.
I`d tell him of ships I`d sailed on the seas
When I put him in bed at night
And that freckle faced kid was as sharp as a tack
And quick as a mate for a fight.
I thought I`d wait till he growed a bit
And let him pick out his own name
One day he came in with a bug in his hand
And he said, Me Grasshopper MacClain.
Oh, he`d mimic my walk and he`d mimic my talk
Like my shadow he just tagged me around
Even had to be checked every time I was checked
By the navy doc over the town.
The doc`d laugh and thump his little ole chest
And say feller you`re right as rain
Then he`d turn to me and tell me that I`d be a new man
Thanks to Grasshopper MacClain.
I guess you wonder why I`m tellin` you this
Well, that`s why I`m here doin` time
For a bang and a sheriff and a red headed dame that came
To take what was mine.
Oh, but you should`ve seen the way he fought
You could tell that kid was navy trained
But this lonely cell wouldn`t be so much like hell
If I only had Grasshopper MacClain...
