They Say That In The Army

October 4, 2004 6:46 PM

On the origins and history of the military (marching/running) cadence. Some were straightforwardly about identity, some inevitably about the performance of bloodthirstyness, but it always seemed to me that the most rewarding and enjoyable cadences to sing were those that were simply special cases of an older tradition: the working man's blues. A platoon run to cadence in the Fort Knox gloaming may be one of the few purely vocal expressions remaining, at that, now that others have fallen by the wayside.
posted by adamgreenfield (9 comments total)

In fourteen hundred and ninety two
A dago wop from dallas
was walking down the streets of Spain
and selling hot tamales

He said the world was round 'o
He said it could be found'o
that hypothetical masturbating son of a bitch columbo

&c.

That one nearly made the forced march to the OP worth it one hot August at Ft. Sill
posted by Fezboy! at 8:05 PM on October 4, 2004

Cool post!

When I was growing up in Montreal in the sixties, some of these marching songs (and the classic "Hitler's only got one ball" version of the Colonel Bogey March) were part of the repertoire of songs and chants on the Catholic school playground for both boys and girls. Interesting how some twenty years after the war, the soldier's kids were still handing down this stuff. I have no idea if kids these days still sing any of these songs. *sigh* Where are the Opies when you need them?

And our version of "They Say That in The Army" was a bit different:

They say that in the Army the girls are mighty fine
They promise Brigette Bardot and give you Frankenstein
Chorus:
Oh I don't wanna lead an army life
Say Ma, I wanna go
Back to Ontario
Gee Ma, I wanna go hoo-ooo-ome

(No need for the EH! -- these are Canadian kids you're talking about.)
posted by maudlin at 9:36 PM on October 4, 2004

I can't remember where it's from (a movie or tv, i think), but there's a hysterical one that goes, "I'm in the army and i'm gay; that don't mean i swish and sway..."
posted by amberglow at 10:01 PM on October 4, 2004

Marching Cadence / Blood Upon The Risers

He was just a cherry trooper and he surely shook with fright
as he checked all his equipment and made sure his pack was tight
He had to sit and listen to the awful engines roar,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

“Is everybody happy?” cried the Sergeant, looking up.
Our hero feebly answered “yes,” and then they stood him up.
He leaped right out into the blast, his static line unhooked.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock;
He felt the wind, he felt the clouds, he felt the awful drop;
He jerked his cord, the silk spilled out and wrapped around his legs.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome;
The lines were snarled and tied in knots, around his skinny bones;
The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

The days he’d lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind;
He thought about the girl back home, the one he’d left behind;
He thought about the medics and wondered what they’ed find.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild;
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, they rolled their sleeves and smiled;
For it had been a week or more since last a chute had failed.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

He hit the ground, the sound was splat, his blood went spurting high;
His comrades were then heard to say, “A helluve way to die”;
He lay there rolling ‘round in the welter of his gore.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute;
Intestines were a-dangling from this paratrooper’s boots;
They picked him up, still in his chute and poured him from his boots.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more
posted by konolia at 4:14 AM on October 5, 2004

It's a good collection and overview, but manages to ellide the fact that military cadence calls do have a clear ongoing function, which is not entertainment or even solace, but consistent inculcation of "Fraternity"-style military values. Even the one Fezboy cites above is mild compared to some of the ones I've heard (not firsthand, but reported to me by a participant, and read about) in terms of explicit racism, sadomasochism and violent misogyny. It's a completely different function, nearly antithetical, from the old call-and-response of the Blues, and I think that deserves to be pointed out.

And if one's response is, "well, boys will be boys," I have an excellent book for you.
posted by soyjoy at 10:01 AM on October 5, 2004

Violent misogyny? Antithetical to the blues? I got a thirty-two twenty, shoot just like a forty-four, I got a thirty-two twenty, shoot just like a forty-four, Lord, if I ever go at my woman, gonna bring her dead or alive.

And it's the blues ancestor, the field holler, that's call and response.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:19 PM on October 5, 2004

To quote soyjoy, "it's a good collection and overview, but manages to elude the fact that military cadence calls do have a clear ongoing function." Thought it is indeed not only entertainment and solace nor simply inculcation of "Fraternity"-style military values, cadence while marching and running forces the canter to breath in and out in a rhythmic cycle which increases lung capacity and endurance. Runners are catching on to what the military has known for quite a while!
posted by Pollomacho at 12:51 PM on October 5, 2004

Great post! Here are a bunch more examples, music included (and including plenty of the off-color type the "history" link says haven't been heard since the mid-'80s, which boggles my mind).

And yeah, soyjoy, the blues are no stranger to violent misogyny.

Um, adam, what was the "others" link supposed to be?
posted by languagehat at 5:42 PM on October 5, 2004

Soyjoy wasn't saying that the blues have no violent misogyny, but that the function of the cadences is different from the function of the blues.
posted by kenko at 8:01 PM on October 5, 2004