Santo Domingo Lyrics - Live Again! - Phil Ochs

And the crabs are crazy, they scuttle back and forth 

The sand is burning 

And the fish take flight and scatter from the sight 

Their courses turning 

As the seagulls rest on the cold cannon nest 

The sea is churning 

The marines have landed on the shores 

Of Santo Domingo 

The fishermen sweat, they're pausing at their nets 

The day's a-burning 

As the warships sway and thunder in the bay 

Loud the morning 

But the boy on the shore is throwing pebbles no more 

He runs a-warning 

That the the marines have landed on the shores 

Of Santo Domingo 

The streets are still, there's silence in the hills 

The town is sleeping 

And the farmers yawn in the gray silver dawn 

The fields they're keeping 

As the first troops land and step into the sand 

The flags are weaving 

The marines have landed on the shores 

Of Santo Domingo 

The unsmiling sun is shining down upon 

The singing soldiers 

In the cloud dust whirl they whistle at the girls 

They're getting bolder 

The old women sigh, think of memories gone by 

They shrug their shoulders 

The marines have landed on the shores 

Of Santo Domingo 

Ready for the tricks, their bayonets are fixed 

Now they are rolling 

And the tanks make tracks past the trembling shacks 

Where fear is unfolding 

All the young wives afraid, turn their backs on the parade 

With babes they're holding 

The marines have landed on the shores 

Of Santo Domingo 

A bullet cracks the sound, the army hit the ground 

The sniper is callin' 

So they open their guns, a thousand to one 

No sense in stalling 

He clutches at his head and totters on the edge 

Look how he's falling 

The marines have landed on the shores 

Of Santo Domingo 

In the red plaza square, the crowds come to stare 

The heat is leaning 

And the eyes of the dead are turning every head 

To the widows screaming 

But the soldiers make a bid, giving candy to the kids 

Their teeth are gleaming 

The marines have landed on the shores 

Of Santo Domingo 

Up and down the coed, the generals drink a toast 

The wheel is spinning 

And the cowards and the whores are peeking 

Through the doors to see who's winning 

But the traitors will pretend that it's getting near the end 

When it's beginning 

The marines have landed on the shores 

Of Santo Domingo 

And the crabs are crazy, they scuttle back and forth 

The sand is burning 

And the fish take flight and scatter from the sight 

Their courses turning 

As the seagulls rest on the cold cannon nest 

The sea is churning 

The marines have landed on the shores 

Of Santo Domingo