J’entendrai sur les bords du Rhin,
Au grand soleil, claquer joyeuse
Ma mitrailleuse.
Then, amidst the applause and the “vivats,” the lieutenant embraced his young friend vigorously and said:
“Nom de Dieu! You didn’t tell me that you were a poet. I congratulate you.”
And taking him by the arm, he went off joyous, skipping like a gamin, taking up again the inspiring refrain:
Ma Mitrailleuse ... Ma Mitrailleuse!