In forty-three they put to sea thirteen men and Kennedy   Aboard the PT 109 to fight the brazen enemy   And off the isle of Olasana in the straits beyond the roo   A Jap destroyer in the night cut the 109 in two      Smoke and fire upon the sea   Everywhere they looked was the enemy   The heathen gods of old Japan   Yeah they thought they had the best of a mighty good man      And on the coast of Kolombangaro looking through his telescope   Australia's Evans saw the battle for the crew had little hope   Two were dead, some were wounded, all were clinging to the bow   Fighting fire and a-fighting water trying to save their lives somehow      Smoke and fire upon the sea   Everywhere they looked was the enemy   The heathen gods of old Japan   Yeah they thought they had the best of a mighty good man      McMahon the Irishman was burned so badly, he couldn't swim   Leave me here go on he said 'cause if you don't we'll all be dead   The PT skipper couldn't leave him a man to die alone at sea   And with a strap between his teeth, he towed the Irishman through the sea      Smoke and fire upon the sea   Everywhere they looked was the enemy   The heathen gods of old Japan   Yeah they thought they had the best of a mighty good man      He led his men through waters dark, rocky reefs and hungry sharks   Braved the enemies bayonets, a thirty-eight hung round his neck   Four more days and four more nights a rescue boat pulled into sight   The PT 109 was gone but Kennedy and his crew lived on      Now who could guess or who could possibly know   That this same man named Kennedy   Would be the leader of the nation, be the one to take command   The PT 109 was gone but Kennedy lived to fight again      Smoke and fire upon the sea   Everywhere they looked was the enemy but JFK and his crew lived on   Which proves it's hard to get the best of a man named John   Big John, big John, big John, big John