MARINE CORPS HYMN
Lyrics
From the halls of Montezuma,
To the shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marine.
Our flag's unfurled to every breeze
From the dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far-off northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job
The United States Marines.
Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And have never lost our nerve;
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.
Lyrics in use before 1919 included:
This version can be heard in the 1950 film Halls of Montezuma. In 1919, the third and fourth lines were changed to include the "first to fight" motto. In 1942, the second line was changed to refer to the addition of air power to the world's military arsenals.
Extra verses
Various people over the years wrote unofficial or semi-unofficial extra verses to commemorate later battles and actions, for example:
Again in 1941, we sailed a north'ard course
The Iceland girls were slim and fair, and fair the Iceland scenes, and the Army found in landing there, the United States Marines.
(In 1940, during World War II, British forces occupied Iceland to guard it from possible occupation by Nazi Germany. In 1941, responsibility for the occupation was transferred to the U.S., who garrisoned a brigade of Marines.)