Subject: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Deckman Date: 27 Jun 02 - 01:07 AM It's been a while since I contributed much. (been busy with family affairs). I had a thought today, and I'm posing it as new thread! When you were in the service, as I was in the U.S. Army circa 1955 - 1963, did you learn many songs from your buddies. I know I sure did ... |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Deckman Date: 27 Jun 02 - 01:13 AM Sorry about that ... it's been a long day! Oh, there was a little drummer And he loved a one eyed cook There, I hope that's better, Bob |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: katlaughing Date: 27 Jun 02 - 01:20 AM My brother learned a lot of German drinking songs! |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 27 Jun 02 - 01:24 AM And ONE of those German songs is.....????
Please, continue Ms. Laughing
Sincerely,
|
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Deckman Date: 27 Jun 02 - 01:34 AM One of the reasons that I thought this topic might prove interesting is because of the service experience itself. By that, I mean, the forced comming together of thousands of strangers, who had to learn to live (and fight) together. My Army (medic) experience had a profound effect on me. I often wonder about where some of my service friends are. My reference to the song in my first posting relates to a new friend I made. He was native New York. We were stationed in Texas. We had Sundays free. We'd take our guitars and go to the local zoo. Our goal was to sing songs ... pick up girls ... get in trouble ... etc. (I learned a LOT of songs). CHEERS, Bob |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Deckman Date: 27 Jun 02 - 01:44 AM Hi Kat ... nice to hear from you. CHEERS, Bob |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: GUEST,T-boy Date: 27 Jun 02 - 08:29 AM Never was in the army. But I learned a few good ones in the Boy Scouts. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: artbrooks Date: 27 Jun 02 - 09:05 AM ^^ My husband's a lifer, a lifer, a lifer And a mighty fine lifer is he All day he does nothing, does nothing, does nothing And at night he does nothing to me! Drink a little bit Fuck a little bit And follow the Cav, follow the Cav, follow the Cav Drink a little bit Fuck a little bit And follow the Cav And join in our happy song. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: MMario Date: 27 Jun 02 - 09:12 AM my BIL frequently attempts to sing a song he learned in the Marines -
"Well we were playing football, at about that time the dogs usually start howling too loud to hear anything else. i've never been able to find the rest of the lyrics. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 27 Jun 02 - 11:36 AM Great Song ART!! What is the tune- (Did You Ever See a Lassy?) I will make use of it this immediate weekend. THANK YOU.
Sincerely, |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Uncle Jaque Date: 27 Jun 02 - 11:46 AM "CHARLOTTE THE HARLOT" Tune rather resembles the "B" part of "Sweet Betsy From Pike", in 6/8 if i'm not mistaken: Chorus: OOOOOoh Chalotte the Harlot, the girl we adore; Well Charlotte went walkin' in the desert one day; Well a Cowpoke come a- clippetty-cloppin' along; Well the funeral procession was 90 miles long;
I generally avoid singing this one in genteel company, and very seldom at all since embracing the life of a Christian some decades ago. Or attempting to, anyway. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: beadie Date: 27 Jun 02 - 12:23 PM In the Air Force during the sixties, we still had a few aircrews around who remembered the reciprocal (propeller-driven) days of combat airplanes. They all seemed to be more enthusiastic in their songs than the younger (jet age) pilots. One ditty that I recall was alternatively called either "Itazuke Tower" or "Air Force 801." A song about a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot, it was sung to the tune of "Wabash Cannonball." It had been recorded by Oscar Brand in a somewhat cleansed version and that lyric is now, I think, available on the digitrad db. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Dead Horse Date: 27 Jun 02 - 01:29 PM The Brits too were often to be heard singing rather raunchy ditties while out on the town, and it is to be hoped that the locals knowlege of hinglish was limited. Old KIng Cole Three British officers crossed the line An engineer told me before he died Wait for the wagon Zulu warrior .....and several clean, but anti-british songs were popular. Mostly Irish rebel songs, of course! Poking fun at others might be considered bad form by some, but poking fun at ourselves was definately *good stuff*. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: artbrooks Date: 27 Jun 02 - 04:09 PM Gargoyle, there is a midi link in the DT under "Follow the Band", which is a non-military version, but it doesn't work. Oscar Brand may have recorded this as well, but I remember singing it in a club in Da Nang. Other verses I remember are (in abbreviated version): ...A sergeant....kicks butt ...A looie...screws up ...A captain...licks ass ...A major...makes plans ...A colonel...dicks off ...A warrent...does everything I suspect that this particular version was put together by the WOPAs (Warrent Officer Protective Association), an officially non-existant organization with about as much clout in the Army as the WPPA (West Point Protective Association). |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Irish sergeant Date: 27 Jun 02 - 04:20 PM Ilearned severalwhen I was in the Navy (1974-1991) most of them were quite raunchy. Including Never let your ballocks dangle in the dust (Pete Box, Armourer RN) The Bicycle Song (AD1 Tony Meeks, VA-86, USN)And some I can actually sing in public without having the Moral Majority outside the door with pitchforks and torches. Neil |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Morticia Date: 27 Jun 02 - 06:51 PM well, as an army 'brat' I learned loads...mostly those my parents would be horrified to know I know.....like:
Our Sergeant Major jumped from 50 thousand feet words for all of the above on aplication |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: dick greenhaus Date: 27 Jun 02 - 06:56 PM Pick your era. We have songs listed under @WWI, @WWII, @Korea and @Vietnam, as well as @army, @navy, @air. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: artbrooks Date: 27 Jun 02 - 06:57 PM Morticia, is "Quartermaster Stores" the one that goes" "its beer, beer, beer, that makes you feel so queer" and goes on for ninety-eleven verses? |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Gareth Date: 27 Jun 02 - 07:14 PM I have never had the honour of serving in Her Majestie's forces - but I learn't a few from my father and his butties over the years, mainly through listening at the Rugby Club, and elewhere. I regret, oh how I regret, not taking the words down. They ranged from the A25 song (DT)(Thank you 'Uncle Tony' an ex Swordfish Pilot - who survived the HMS Victorious strike on the 'Bismark') To various parodies learn't from my father, Army . And various highly obscean ditties from the Royal Navy. I fear that as that geneation pass on the words may be lost. It would be a pity, for the folk legacy is part of thier memorial. And we are lesser people for letting this part of their memory, and acheivements, fade. My mother spent part of 1943 & 1944 as a Land Girl in East Anglia. I must tap her memories as to what the 8th USAAF sang in the pubs. Gareth
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Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Uncle Jaque Date: 27 Jun 02 - 09:54 PM Morticia; "Don't be angry with me,Sergeant" sounds like a hoot; if the lyrics are too raunchy - which I rather doubt, seeing as mine is still up here - on the forum, i'd appreciate a PM with 'em. Is it set to a familiar tune? It is strongly speculated that a lot of Soldier's songs from about every war are lost, as nobody wrote any of them down (for good reason, we suppose)and were reluctant to sing them at home with the Family about. As irreverent as most of the few surviving examples tend to be, a lot of them were really funny. This probably went for lots of predominently male working groups besides the Military; Cowboys, Loggers, Sailors, Railroad laborers and the like. It would be interesting to collect some CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps, formed between the Depression and WW-II) songs, but I've never heard of any existing. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: NH Dave Date: 28 Jun 02 - 09:19 PM Some of the songs from Viet Nam were written and collected by Dick Jonas, an F-4 pilot in Thailand in the mid 60's. Last I knew he had a web site called Erosonic.com where he sells CDs of the songs he sang, wrote, or adapted from older WWI, WWII, Korea & later conflicts.
Since the Navy spent long periods of time at sea, in what was then almost a one-sex service; their songs tended to deal with the problems of getting a bit, when ashore with 6,000 other Navy buddies, in a small port.
These are not necessarily nice songs, but they were what we sang late at night, in the beer tents, to keep ourselves entertained or from going crazy - If you can sign about it or laugh about it, you msy still be able to cope with it. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Keith A of Hertford Date: 29 Jun 02 - 06:30 AM This was sung at smokers in my old firm. There is an authentic german song but I don't have it. Falschirmjaeger Song There's blood on the parachutes that cover, The falschirmjaeger who to Crete came from the sky, A young lad of 18 years lay dyeing, His comerades heard him say his last goodbye (ch) Farewell my fatherland, please tell my mother that, She must not cry, for though her only son, A falschirmjaeger I am proud to die. Farewell my company, I hope you hold this island, Raised from hell, how I wish I could be there, With my falschirmjaeger friends I love so well. Last night as we waited for our orders, To jump in foreign lands behind the English lines, Asleep on the ground beside his aircraft, Each falscirmjaeger saw his death a thousand times. Ch. They call us the warriors from heaven, Even the Waffen SS show respect for us. Although our airborne mission was victorious. (ch) Aint gonna jump no more, Keith. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Keith A of Hertford Date: 29 Jun 02 - 06:34 AM Line 3 of last verse abducted by aliens!? Now Crete is a paratroopers' graveyard. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Banjer Date: 29 Jun 02 - 08:30 PM Having some bouts with CRS here of late I can only remember snippets of some songs. One that tells of Ringo, a dog owned by one Peter Murphy, is probably my best remembered tidbit: Peter Murphy had a dog, Ringo was his name, Everywhere that dog would go he'd bring poor Peter shame. He crapped one day in the General's yard, right out on the grass, When the General stepped in it, he chewed poor Peter's....., Ask me how he handled it, all that I will say, Is Peter don't remember much, but he recalls THAT day! There are many more choruses where Ringo sniffs up the dress of a WAC officer and many other transgressions. The neat thing is there are no real dirty cuss words. Every tim a word would be expected the next verse starts out with the same syllable and goes into another line. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: katlaughing Date: 29 Jun 02 - 08:50 PM HeyaRoope, sorry I didn't get back to you. Gargoyle, I have had to write to my brother to ask him, as he doesn't have a phone. As soon as I hear back from him, I will post them. He was stationed in Bavaria and was the "Duke of Coburg" for Oktoberfest one year. kat |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: GUEST,John Gray @ work Date: 29 Jun 02 - 09:57 PM During the 60's & 70's we had an oil tanker in the Australian Navy called the HMAS Supply. Their ditty went; The colour is terrific and the flash-point is high, Oh Supply's diesolene - its a bewdy. Bewdy - Aussie slang for beauty ( beautiful ), something that's really good. JG/FME |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: GUEST,John Gray@work Date: 29 Jun 02 - 10:04 PM How come the first line disappeared? It should be; Who put the flavour back in diesolene? Supply put the flavour back in diesolene, The colour is terrific and the flash-point is high, Oh Supply's diesolene - its a bewdy. JG/FME |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Kaleea Date: 30 Jun 02 - 01:14 AM While my ex was in the Army, we performed music freqently at the nearby chapel. When we went to South Korea, I learned marvelous songs from singing with a local Korean city choir, and also from the radio & TV. My favs were the beautiful folk songs. During the service years, I also learned polkas while playing in a Polska Band. There are some which became favorites, and possibly my all-time fav is "The No Beer in Heaven Polka." It was all the more funny inasmuch as I never cared for beer whatsoever! I once had a retriever that would get up & dance & bark to that polka! And then I am quite partial to "Tiny Bubbles"--(Don Ho's words are a bit different, but he knows this parody too!): (everybody sing!) Tiny bubbles (tiny bubbles) In my beer (in my beer) Make me feel happy (make me feel happy) Make me feel wierd (make me feel wierd) . . . I must admit, though, that the old song by Homer & Jethro about being in the Army was one of the best! ". . . and now I wonder who the heck is spending my allotment check?!" |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 01 Jul 02 - 12:01 AM Consult the "Rugby Song" thread.
It is a collection compiled from the Camp Pendelton Marine Base.
Sincerely, |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Dave Bryant Date: 01 Jul 02 - 11:16 AM I've always been interested in RAF and Fleet Air Arm songs. The A25 song from the FAR is in the DT as already mentioned - if you don't already know it look it up. There were large numbers of RAF songs - one which I'm looking for is often called "The ballad of Mr Richard Suppards" - each verse ends with his initial and surname ie "He flew his plane - R Suppards" (hint: in England we say Arse not Ass). I have this version of a well-known RAF song (to the tune of "John Browns Body"). Our flight sargeant wants a rope around his neck (x3) Chorus: But he ain't goin' to jump no more. Gory, Gory, what a helluva way to die (x3) And he ain't going to jump no more. A WAF down at dispersal, tied a love-knot in his cord. He jumped without a parachute at twenty thousand feet. The scraped him off the tarmac like a lump of strawbery jam. They sent him home to mother on a piece of four by two. She keeps him on the mantlepiece beside his DFC. |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Keith A of Hertford Date: 01 Jul 02 - 03:32 PM There are proper verses to that song Is every body happy said the sergeant looking up The para boldly answered yes and then they hooked him up, he jumped into the lipstream and he twisted 20 times, And he aint... Glory glory.. The rigging lines wrapped around his neck,,br> The D rings cracked his dome, The lift webbs tied themselves in knots Around each skinny bone, The cannopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground, And.. The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps went running wild, The medics they all clapped their hands, rolled up their sleeves and smiled, For it had been a week or more since the last 'chute had failed, And.... |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: artbrooks Date: 01 Jul 02 - 07:25 PM Gory, gory, paratrooper Gory, gory, paratrooper Gory, gory, paratrooper And he ain't gonna jump no more |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Keith A of Hertford Date: 02 Jul 02 - 02:13 AM Just remembered the last versr. He hit the ground, the sound was splat, the blood went spurting high, His mates were sadly heard to say, Lord what a way to die, They wrapped him up all in his chute and poured him from his boots, And he ..... |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: NH Dave Date: 02 Jul 02 - 08:59 PM Further to my last comments, this URL, http://www.countryjoe.com/warsongs.htm has a discography of music of the Viet Nam War. Also, do a search on "In Country"+ "Dick Jonas" and you'll get a lot more disks and songs. One site is even from Denmark! Dave |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: NH Dave Date: 09 Jul 02 - 02:09 PM Here's a site for some of Dick Jonas' songs about the 8th Tac Fighter Wing, of Ubon Thailand. http://www.js-net.com/~phantom/songs.htm Dave |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: SaulBro Date: 09 Jul 02 - 06:15 PM I am one of the Vietnam vet artists on the "In Country: Folk Songs of Americans in the Vietnam War" Flying Fish CD that NH Dave mentions above. These are songs by a bunch of us that were either written or learned by us while over there. For more info, check out Dr. Lydia Fish "Vietnam Veterans Oral History & Folklore Archive" site at Saul Broudy |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: SaulBro Date: 09 Jul 02 - 06:20 PM That's http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/fishlm/folksongs |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Banjer Date: 09 Jul 02 - 06:41 PM JUNGLE BELLS
Dashing through the mud, in a jeep that should be junk, |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: GUEST,Lydia Fish Date: 10 Jul 02 - 05:15 PM For more information than you ever wanted to have about services songs, check out my website at http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/fishlm/folksongs. For a list of commercially available recordings of this material, try http:/faculty.buffalostate.edu/fishlm/folksongs/sources.htm. I will be adding a page of links to other websites dealing with services songs as soon I finish with summer school. Lydia Fish |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Irish sergeant Date: 10 Jul 02 - 07:12 PM One a good friend of mine snag a very brief portion of to the tune of moving on and Bill Mauldin publicized when he re-released his book "Up Front" THe MacNamara Line is a hundred miles long/ It's completely surrounded by Viet Cong? I'm Moving on.. My time is done I for get the rest but if there is a copy out there let me know. Kindest regards, Neil |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 11 Jul 02 - 12:32 PM I didn't LEARN this in the army. I wrote it, during basic training. Of course in basic training we felt much put upon, and especially in the matter of food. One of the grievances was ONE slice of bread being allowed per meal, and ONE small carton of milk. That being said, I wrote this, to the tune of "The Wild Goose" which Frankie Laine had made so popular: Last night I heard a sparrow call CHO: I must warn next cycle through CHO:
Sorry for the thread creep. Dave Oesterreich |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Irish sergeant Date: 11 Jul 02 - 03:23 PM DAve; That is truly a great song! Hope you record it somertime! Neil |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 11 Jul 02 - 07:35 PM Here's one I DID learn in the army: "The words" to mess call: Soupy, soupy, soupy, without a single bean Dave Oesterreich |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 12 Jul 02 - 11:56 AM |
Subject: RE: SONGS YOU LEARNED IN THE SERVICE? From: GUEST,Chris Date: 05 Mar 05 - 05:37 PM Up in the morning to the rising sun Gonna run all day till the running's done Ho Chi Min is a son of a bitch Got the blue ball crabs and the seven years itch I love working for Uncle Sam, Let's me know just who I am If I die in the combat zone, box me up and ship me home Lay my medals upon my chest, tell my mamma I done my best |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,Allan S. Date: 06 Mar 05 - 11:00 AM A take off of the Dark Town Strutters Ball Called "The mother f-----s Ball |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST Date: 06 Mar 05 - 03:32 PM Let's see it then. Allan S. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,Jacqued Date: 06 Mar 05 - 03:47 PM For those interested in many, many songs about the Rodney (RN)and most of them unPC! try Cyril Tawney's "Grey Funnel Lines - Traditional Song and Verse of The Royal Navy 1900-1970". Published by Routledge and Kegan, London ISBN 0-7102-1270-4. A treasure house. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Fred (Beetle) Bailey Date: 06 Mar 05 - 05:05 PM Winter 1965 -- a drafty barrack in Ft.Polk, Lousiana -- we were a bunch of brand new draftees, quietly fumbling with our gear and finding our bunks after a long day of sheer hell -- a guy from Iowa(?) came prancing down the aisle from the showers -- stark naked and singing "Nothing would be finer Than to be in her vagina In the mor-r-r-n-ing" Ya' know, not even the Pentagon could figure out a way to pay for a morale booster like that! |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Charley Noble Date: 06 Mar 05 - 07:36 PM I never made it into the service. The closest I ever came was staying in the barracks at Camp Darby in Northern Italy, where my Draft Board had sent me from my Peace Corps assignment in Ethiopia in 1967 to determine if I were healthy enough for cannon fodder. I spent a pleasant evening at their command center leading Pete Seeger songs with the resident GI's, and happily next morning my amoebic dysintary was confirmed as chronic and I was deferred from further consideration. Maybe I should write a song about this experience! Arlo did quite well with his. Charley Noble |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Rapparee Date: 06 Mar 05 - 08:24 PM Ft. Leonard Wood, 1963: Roll Me Over Oh the count is up to one And the fun has just begun, Chorus: Roll me over lay me down and do it again, Roll me over in the clover Roll me over lay me down and do it again. Oh the count is up to to two And my hand is on her shoe Oh the count is up to three And my hand is on her knee Oh the count is up to four And I'm knockin' at the door Oh the count is up to five And my dick just took a dive Oh the count is up to six And I'm in a helluva a fix Oh the count is up to seven And I think that I'm in heaven Oh the count is up to eight And the doctor's at the gate Oh the count is up to nine And the twins are doin' fine Oh the count is up to ten And I'd like to do it again.... |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Rapparee Date: 06 Mar 05 - 08:31 PM Same time, same place: Around her neck she wore a yellow ribbon She wore it in the springtime and in the month of May And if you ask her why the hell she wore it, She wore it for her trooper who was far, far away. Chorus Far away, far away, she wore it for her trooper who was far far away. Around the block she pushed a baby carriage She pushed it in the springtime and in the month of May And if you asked her why the hell she pushed it She pushed it for her troop who was far, far away. Behind the door her father kept a shotgun He kept it in the springtime and in the month of May And if you asked him why the hell he kept it He kept it for her trooper who was far far away. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,Allan S. Date: 13 Mar 05 - 01:15 PM Sorry for the delay Go to immortalia.com That is John Mehlberg's web site for bawdy ballads. on the left side of the screen there is a list of songs. Scroll down to Mother Fu----s Ball and it is there |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Tannywheeler Date: 14 Mar 05 - 01:05 AM Not sure I noted all the songs. My stepdad was in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He taught us all a basic complaint song: ^^^ 1)The biscuits in the army They say are mighty fine, But one rolled off the table And killed a pal of mine. (cho)OOOOh, I don't want no more of army life. Gee, but I want to go home. 2)The coffee in the army They say is mighty fine. It's good for cuts and bruises And tastes like iodine. (cho) 3)The chicken in the army They say is mighty fine, But one jumped off the table And started marking time. (cho) 4)The trousers in the army They say are mighty fine. Me and my buddy Can both fit into mine. (cho) Don't remember other verses now, but I think there were a few more. We were about 6yrs old (late 1940s/early '50s) when we learned this one. Looks like there wouldn't have been many he could have taught us. Tw |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,Lighter at work Date: 14 Mar 05 - 07:39 AM Tannywheeler, I associate that song with WWII. Could that be when your stepdad learned it? |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,ALLAN S. Date: 14 Mar 05 - 09:45 AM I sang it in basic training at fort Dix 1953 when I had my guitar there. Also sang it at boy scout camp. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Wilfried Schaum Date: 14 Mar 05 - 12:17 PM Thank you, Rapaire, for the count. I've heard it sung by GIs in the seventies (starting: and this is number ...) and forgot a lot in the years to follow. I tried to find the lyrics, and now I have them. Wilfried (German Federal Army, rtd) |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Tannywheeler Date: 14 Mar 05 - 12:47 PM Lighter, he didn't talk about WWII. He talked about Spain. It was, I think, part of the same fight. Personal Opinion. Tw |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,cadet Date: 29 Aug 06 - 11:18 PM i learned one a couple in basic training and i wasn't in service im a cadet in Civil Air Patrol and AFJROTC glory, glory what a heluva way to die with a rifle on your back as your fallin throgh the sky glory glory what a helluva way ta die cuz i aint gonna jump no more...... and right o left, right o left steppin out on my left and it wont be long till im marching back home mama mama dont you cry, airborn rangers neva die and it wont be long till im marching back home |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: The Walrus Date: 30 Aug 06 - 03:37 AM I was never in the Forces, my nearest experience was Army Cadet Force (An Army-run youth organisation, a sort of armed Boy Scouts run on military lines). We had songs, often handed down from older members or even gleaned from servicemen and adapted. We had one (1960s/70s) which I, seem to recall as being based on a National Service song "Ginger, You're Barmy" (1950s). Basically the song was the same as one wehich I later, learned from my late Father (pre-WW2 'Militia-man'*). Looking at the lyrics at a later date, it struck me that the song was older than his service and had, in turn, been adapted from a song of Great War vintage (That should fit it in here ;-) ) The bits of My Father's song (that I cam remember) are as follows: Belisha's Army Don't want to join, Don't want to join Don't want to join Belisha's Army Up at six o'clock, Running 'round the block Fucking great icicles, hanging off your cock Don't want to join, Don't want to join Don't want to join Belisha's Army Sitting on the grass Polishing up your brass Bloody great spiders crawling up your arse Don't want to join, Don't want to join Don't want to join Belisha's Army Five bob+ a week, Sod-all to eat Bloody great blisters hanging off your feet Don't want to join, Don't want to join Don't want to join Belisha's Army If it wasn't for the war We'd have fucked-off long before Hoare-Belisha# - You're barmy! The song is incomplete - perhaps someone out there has more? Any use? W * Pre WW2 Conscript - Conscripted under the Militia Act, as in interim measure while the National Service Act (1939) was in the House. + Five-bob = 25 pence for those too young to remember £.s.d # Hoare-Belisha was the Ministrer of War in 1939 (also the man who gave us the Belisha beacon at 'zebra' crossings). |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,commosoldier Date: 10 Sep 08 - 12:50 AM I remember this one. It brings back so many memories being up at o'dark hundred have to do PT: Up in the morning-before day I dont like it- no way I eat my breakfast too damn soon Wanna go home-by noon I went to the mess sargeant on my knees "mess sargeant, mess sargeant feed me please" The mess sargent said with a big ole grim If you wanna be (insert branch) "commo"-you gotta be thin Cause I'm A-I RB- OR- NE. Say yeah! Hell yeah! Say yeah! Hell yeah! Do you feel like I feel right now? Mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-motivated!! A Di-di-di-di-di-dedicated! Rock-Steady! Wanna be-combat ready now! Rock-Steady! Roll-easy! Hey, hey! Hey hey now! To the beat now! I can run to the sun now-just for fun now Here we go-here we go now. come on-now..... |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST Date: 04 Dec 08 - 07:00 PM yo mama's got a big ass dick (ding dong)-platoon i seen it when she takin a shit (ding dong) she slapped it on the side of the bowl (ding dong) water splashed out of the hole (ding dong) that water got on my shoes (ding dong) i told her these were fuckin new (ding dong) she wiped them with the paper she had (ding dong) guess what?yo mama is really a man |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,Pittielynn Date: 07 Apr 09 - 10:47 PM This one always made me laugh more than anything else. A little birdie in a tree Said something very nice to me Said Alpha coy is number one And beating them just cant be done A little louder A little faster And much, much better A little birdie in a tree Said something very mean to me Said Bravo coy is number one And beating them just can't be done A little louder A little faster And much, much better So I shot that birdie in the head Now that little birdies dead Moral of the story will be Don't question Alpha's superiority |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Claymore Date: 08 Apr 09 - 03:15 AM As I mentioned in a similar thread several years ago, I heard a song in the 'Nam that was entitled (to the best of my memory) The Night we Gunned Down Santa Claus. As I recall he wasn't squawking on his IFF. The other had a verse that went: You come into the room, Talking that talk But I can tell what you've been doing, By the way you walk... |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego Date: 08 Apr 09 - 11:36 AM Your spats are loose, Your belt is tight, Your balls are swingin' From left to right! Sound Off!! Between Boy Scouts, summers as a forest firefighter and basic training, I heard several of the above ditties. I didn't commit a lot of them to memory since the only place you could sing them without penalty was in the barracks. Bob, I do have fond memories of my time in your current back yard, at Ft. Lewis, circa 1961-62. I, too, have often wondered what became of some of my army buddies. In those days, when the draft grabbed a lot of college grads, it was quite a diverse and fairly well-educated group with whom I served. With all the reserve and National Guard call-ups that occurred during the "Berlin Crisis," we also wound up with quite a list of actors, pro athletes, professional ice skaters and other notables for several months. Ray Nitschke, Tony Kubek, Elgin Baylor and Mel Blanc's son, Noel, to mention a few. And, we had the Fair in Seattle and a lot of visiting musicians. One Ohio State grad summed up his feelings when we saw him off to civilian life at SeaTac airport: "Thanks for the memories. Now, I hope I never have to see you ugly green sonsabitches again!" There's probably a song in there somewhere. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Ratdog Date: 29 May 09 - 06:19 AM (AIT Cav Scout, Ft Knox, KY 1977) Anyone here remember a cadence that involved a little song bird flying in the window so you smash it's skull in with your rifle butt? After 30 some years I can't remember the lyrics to that one, or one that involved a kotex and possibly a Jody boy. Guess I've lost some brain cells between here and there, but no doubt I'd recognise 'em if I saw the words. Easy to remember most of them though, like: Hey hey Captain Jack..meet me down by the RR track..with a bottle in your hand..I'm going to be a drinkin man.. and .. I don't want to be an Airborne Ranger.. I want a life of death and danger..pick up your weapon and follow me..I am the cav-al-ry.. couldn't forget those if I tried. But for some reason the crushing the little bird and the kotex song have gotten lost from my memory, I was thinking they were pretty good. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,guest Date: 03 Jul 09 - 09:06 PM A well-known Australian military song is the words assigned to the regimental march of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) - "Our Director". Apparently, when heard by an American correspondent in Vietnam, his reaction was "That's the first time I've heard an Army unit advocating 'make love, not war'." We're a pack of bastards, Bastards are we. We're from Australia, The a***hole of the world (and all the universe). We're a pack of bastards, Bastards are we. We'd rather f**k than fight for liberty! |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,mg Date: 03 Jul 09 - 10:47 PM Follow follow follow me mg |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,Bill Date: 28 Oct 09 - 12:35 PM To Rapaire who shared the ditty from 1963's Fort Leonard Wood. A big thank you from a guy who also went to basic in '63 at Leonard Wood and learned the same song but could never remember the lyrics. I was Echo-2-2 in July and August and part of September. I do, however, remember every lyric to a song written by a chopper pilot in Nam. Heard it in either '65 or '66, but it's pretty raunchy. Wouldn't want to offend. Bill |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: kendall Date: 28 Oct 09 - 02:04 PM None clean enough to post here. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST Date: 21 Mar 10 - 03:20 PM AirBo.o.o.orn Ranger.er.er.ers Walkin down the street one day I met a total stranger He said he'll make a man of me If i became an Airborn Ranger Airbo.o.o.orn Ranger.er.er.ers Sitin in the Foxhole thinkin about my wife up jumped the enemy so i had to take his life Airbo.o.o.orn Ranger.er.er.ers Runnin through the desert its hot and its dry I gotta keep on runnin cuz I dont wanna die Airborn... Rangers....... My buddy's in the foxhole with a bullet in his head the medic says he's wounded but I know that he's dead Airborn.... Rangers.... |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: kendall Date: 21 Mar 10 - 08:25 PM The money in the Coast Guard they say is mighty fine They pay you $50.00 and take back $49 I dont want no more of Coast Guard life Oh how I want to go home. They shoes that they gave us they said were mighty fine You ask for number 7 they give you number 9 Oh I dont...... The donuts that they fed us they said were mighty fine Mine rolled off the table and killed a pal of mine Oh...etc. The chicken that they fed us they said was mighty fine Mine jumped off the table and started marking time Silly crap. The good one are just too raunchy for posting here. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Booklynrose Date: 21 Mar 10 - 10:23 PM |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: MGM·Lion Date: 22 Mar 10 - 01:53 AM I recommend Roy Palmer's What a Lovely War! British Soldiers' Songs from the Boer War to the Present Day (Michael Joseph 1990); much of the contents of which [incl 2 songs I gave him from my 1950s National Service recollections + another I had learned from a friend who had served in WWii], Roy has put into the British Library Archives which can be found at Archival Sound Recordings, URL http://sounds.bl.uk/View ~Michael~ |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,seth in Olympia Date: 22 Mar 10 - 02:33 AM I learned "96 tears" and I'll bet if you were near Viet-Nam you did too. And "The Letter" learned 'em well. Heard those songs a lot. |
Subject: RE: Richard Suppards From: GUEST,Nobby 600 Sqdn Date: 23 Jul 10 - 05:33 AM It is published in 'History of Biggin Hill" or like title publ 1960'S a hardback blue book. From memory ; A pious mortal and a wise Who never cheated or told lies, Beneath this marble tablet lies R Suppards Alas poor Richard's life was ended, By falling from a beam he'd mended, And on a fence here he hung suspended. R Suppards &c &c. |
Subject: RE: Ballad of Richard Suppards From: GUEST,Nobby 600 Date: 01 Aug 10 - 08:50 AM I have since found out that the above appears in full in "RAF Biggin Hill" -Graham Wallace Putnam 1957 pages 53 & 54. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: olddude Date: 01 Aug 10 - 09:18 AM I wanna be a Navy Seal |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Tradsinger Date: 01 Aug 10 - 02:49 PM I think this is a terrific thread and I also consider that bawdy songs is a very under-studied bit of folklore, considering how much it is part of the oral tradition. I was never in the armed forces (too young to have done military service) but we did have a good repertoire in the school CCF (Combined Cadet Force). They included - Three German Officers crossed the Rhine - Roll me over in the clover - There once was a farmer who sat on a rick - Around her leg she wore a yellow garter - The Good ship Venus - The Ball of Inverness - On Father oh father I have to confess and several more. I passed on most of these to Ed Cray who put together the wonderful book 'The Erotic Muse'. I was also pleased to see that there was a bawdy songs concert recently in Washington and that it was such as sell-out that they have repeated it! Tradsinger |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,meggo141 Date: 13 Sep 10 - 09:43 PM My mom used to sing little ditties she learned during WWII, and I heard Davy's Dinghy (or "He had the cutest little dinghy in the Navy") a zillion times. (I found the lyrics to that one.) She had another favorite, but I can't remember all the words. Here's what I can recall: Went downtown like a good girl should, picked up a sailor like I knew I would. CHO: Listen while I tell you what he done to me. Went upstairs like a good girl should, he followed me like I knew he would. CHO Seems like it had MANY more verses but I can't remember the rest. . . Nor can I recall the tune. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Thanks! |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Lighter Date: 13 Sep 10 - 10:32 PM Here's the 18th Century version: http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiNAVENAVE;ttNAVENAVE;ttKNAVES.html The song goes back to the 17th. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: frogprince Date: 13 Sep 10 - 10:35 PM For all I heard of the Navy having a singing tradition, I encountered very little of it in a four year hitch. On a couple of occasions some of us sat around throwing in verses for "Hey Lottie Lottie". I halfway learned a profoundly raunchy takeoff on "Didn't He Ramble" from an Oscar Brand Record: We landed on Guam Island, one bright and sunny morn, And there we met the girl we knew as Miss VD of Guam. It goes downhill fast from there. I first heard it just before getting orders to eighteen months stationed on Guam. Fortunately or unfortunately, the song says the girl was dead by then. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Tannywheeler Date: 14 Sep 10 - 01:16 AM My stepdad taught me one: "The coffee in the army they say is mighty fine; It's good for cuts & bruises, & tastes like iodine. (ref)OH, I don't want no more of army life-- Gee, but I want to go home. The biscuits in the army they say are mighty fine; One rolled off the table & killed a pal of mine. (ref) The chickens in the army they say are mighty fine; One rolled off the table & started marking time. (ref) The pants in the army they say are mighty fine; Me & my buddy can both fit into mine. (ref) Those are all the verses I can remember. He said he learned it while in the service. He was in Spain(the Abraham Lincoln Brigade) & later in the U. S. Army. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Slag Date: 14 Sep 10 - 05:41 AM I just remember a couple of cadence calls from USAF basic and tech school. Hut Hut Three and a half I had a date with a Lackland WAF She was ready I was willin' Now I'm taking penicilin And at tech school Shepard AFB I only remember two lines You were once my village queen Now I love my M-16 There was one big long schpiel about Ho-Chi-Minh being a SOB. As a child my brother (2 years older) learned some WWII ditties, snatches included: Inky Dinky Parlez Vous The first marine jumped over the gate, parlez vous The second marine jumped over the gate, parlez vous The third marine jumped over the gate Got shot in the back with a .38 Inky dinky, parlez vous. Not much of a contribution but it might jog a memory or two. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST Date: 27 Dec 10 - 12:55 AM My Grandma sings one Khaki and Olive Drab... Does anyone know what the major does in that song? She can remember all the others just not the major. She is 93 and it would have been during WWII. It would make her happy to finally remember what the major does. |
Subject: req: Khaki and Olive Drab From: Joe Offer Date: 27 Dec 10 - 01:25 AM Hi - Can you post what you know of "Khaki and Olive Drab"? It will help us find the rest of the song, and will enlighten us who haven't heard it. Thanks. -Joe- |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,Richard/SIA Date: 12 Jun 11 - 01:27 AM Ha! That Charlotte the Harlot song got me sent home from grade school back in the early 60's on the first day! My dad played it a lot, on a 78 party record, I was about seven years old and had no idea what the song was about. I recognize a couple of the cadence songs here, sung every day by the kids at recess, "coffee taste like iodine", LOL! We also sang one about Eney Meney Miny Moe, catch a N***** by the toe, if he screams and hollers let him go! Can't imagine that being tolerated today! Again, the words had no meaning, it was just a ditty for jump rope. I doubt kids sing anything with a military history today, just rap crap and mindless junk from the top ten. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST Date: 12 Feb 12 - 11:17 PM Both of my grandfathers fought in world war 2 one of them use to sing a song about a woman pushing a baby carriage down the street, i think maybe it even mentioned it being a sunday afternoon, but I'm not sure, I really want to find out what song it is, if anyone has any clue please coment |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,Toddbone Date: 12 Aug 14 - 07:26 PM My father spent almost 3 years in Europe during WWII, compliments of the US Army. He passed in 1977, but I used to hear him sing bits and pieces of two songs in particular: 1) "A Lunatic's Lullaby" 2) "In Fourteen Hundred and Ninety-Two..." I'm not sure of the titles or names these songs were known by, but I could provide a few lyrics. He was in Eng., Fr., Ger., and a half dozen other countries during his tour. Any ideas on these two gems would be great! Thanks toddbonester@gmail.com |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: bubblyrat Date: 13 Aug 14 - 07:46 AM An engineer told me before he died, uh huh an engineer told me before he died uh huh an engineer told before he died, his wife could not be satisfied, uh huh So he built a prick of steel uh huh (repeat ) so he built a prick of steel, and it was driven by a fucking great wheel, uh huh two brass balls were filled with cream uh huh (repeat) two brass balls were filled with cream, and the whole fucking issue was driven by steam uh huh In and out went the prick of steel uh huh(repeat) in and out went the prick of steel, round and round went the fucking great wheel uh huh "Enough ! Enough ! Enough !" She cried uh huh (repeat ) "Enough ! Enough ! Enough! " she cried ; "Enough ! Enough! - I'm satisfied ! " uh huh Now we come to the "biter bit " uh huh (repeat) now we come to the "biter bit , there was no way of stopping it ! uh huh So she was split from ass to tit uh huh(repeat) she was split from ass to tit and the whole fucking issue was covered in shit uh huh The tune , of course, is "Froggy went a-courting and he did ride uh huh" Sorry it is a bit vulgar, but that is what we sang in the British Navy !!! (and you DID ask !). |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Lighter Date: 13 Aug 14 - 08:02 AM And when did you learn it, Bubbly? For some reason 'Catters rarely tell us pedants when or where they learned a song. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,Guest-Over the bar Date: 13 Aug 14 - 10:47 AM The men behind the wire. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST,mg Date: 13 Aug 14 - 02:10 PM It's a hell of a way to die a hell of a way to die it's a hell of a death to jump to death a hell of a way to die. |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: GUEST Date: 05 Apr 18 - 03:53 AM I only remember snatches of R suppards. There was a pious mortal and a wise. Now beneath this marble tablet lies. R.Suppards |
Subject: RE: Songs You Learned in the Service? From: Joe Offer Date: 05 Apr 18 - 04:31 AM We had to chant this in basic training while marching at double-time. I hated that. I wanna be an Airborne Ranger I wanna live a life of danger I wanna go to Vietnam I wanna kill old Charlie Cong. |
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