Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home

Subject: Gee But I Wanna Go Home: Any lyrics to this?
From: Jennifer Burdoo
Date: 19 Oct 98 - 09:38 PM

The old army complaint song (also sung by scouts, campers, and everyone else who's exposed to army food and/or discipline). Is it in the database? I'm unsure how to look it up with so many "popular" words that'll bring up a couple thousand hits.
A verse or two to jog your memory:

The biscuits that they feed us, they say are mighty fine,
One fell off the table, and killed a pal of mine.
Oh, I don't want no more of Army life!
Gee, but I wanna go home.

Thanks.

Jennifer

Subject: RE: Gee But I Wanna Go Home: Any lyrics to this?
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 19 Oct 98 - 09:54 PM

Jennifer,

Many of us fail to know titles. The DT Search trick is to put a unique phrase between brackets []. The DT searches for that phrase. For your dilemma (and mine) I typed in [no more of Army life] and this came right up. It is what you are looking for.

Of course, you can substitute many other residential situations for Army. I first learned this song at Philmont Scout Ranch and we sang "The coffee here at Philmont..."

Enjoy the song.

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: Gee But I Wanna Go Home: Any lyrics to this?
From: Rincon Roy
Date: 20 Oct 98 - 08:24 AM

My dad sang this navy verse:

A package came to me
just the other day
the captain took it from me
and threw it in the bay

Subject: RE: Gee But I Wanna Go Home: Any lyrics to this?
From:
Date: 20 Oct 98 - 10:12 AM

Leadbelly has the verse (in "Last Sessions")

The hot dogs that they give you, they say are mighty fine
but one fell off the table and began marking time.

I have also heard it with "chicken" replacing "hot dogs"

Murray

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Feb 12 - 02:40 PM

During the Korean era we sang it this way,
The chicken in the Army
they say is mighty fine,
One jumped off the table
and started marking time

Ohhh, I don't want no more of Army Life
Gee Ma I wanta go
But they won't let me go,
Gee Ma I wanna to Home

Then all the other with biscuits, coffee, nurses, etc.,
Sitting around with one guy on a guitar and everyone trying to make up another verse.
From 102nd Tanker, old M/Sgt

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Mike Mandaville
Date: 10 Feb 12 - 02:55 PM

This is what I remember:

The biscuits in the Army, they say they're mighty fine
One rolled off the table, and killed a friend of mine

sung to the tune of "Grandpa's Whiskers":

They're always in the way, they're always in the way
Grandma' eats them in her sleep, she thinks she's eating shreaded wheat

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Morgana
Date: 10 Feb 12 - 07:06 PM

From the songbook "From Sea to Shining Sea":

The biscuits in the army, they say are mighty fine.
One fell off the table, and crushed a pal of mine.
I don't want no more of army life.
Gee Ma, I wanna go home.

The coffee that they give you,they say is mighty fine.
It's good for cuts and bruises; it tastes like turpentine.
I don't want no more of army life.
Gee Ma, I wanna go home.

The uniforms they give you, they say are mighty fine.
Me and half my regiment can fit in all of mine.
I don't want no more of army life.
Gee Ma, I wanna go home.

They wages that they pay you, they say are might fine.
They give you fifty dollars and they take back sixty-nine.
I don't want no more of army life.
Gee Ma, I wanna go home.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 10 Feb 12 - 07:52 PM

A couple of stanzas show up in Moss Hart's 1944 Broadway play, "Winged Victory," and later in the movie version.

In 2002 I was seated on a jetliner next to a young lady who'd recently finished U.S. Army basic training. Her version:


                They say that in the army,
                The chow is mighty fine;
                Well, how the hell would they know?
                They never tasted mine.

                Cho.:        I don't want no more of army life,
                        Lordy, I want to go,
                        But they won't let me go,
                        Lordy, I want to go ho-o-o-o-o-o-o-ome.

                They say that in the army,
                The biscuits they are fine;
                One fell off the table,
                And killed a friend of mine.

                They say that in the army,
                The chickens they are fine;
                One jumped off the table,
                And started marking time.

                They say that in the army,
                The pay is mighty fine;
                They give you fifty dollars,
                And take back forty-nine.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Feb 23 - 06:09 PM

joe - combine and expand

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 09 Feb 23 - 04:10 PM

They say that in the army
the films are mighty fine
You ask for Betty Grable
They give you Frankenstein

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 09 Feb 23 - 04:22 PM

Also like the parody they did in MASH.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 12:02 AM

SPB -
PLEASE elaborate?

" MASH " the big screen movie, or the television (USA) program?

You know something, many would like to know too.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

words, video time,
link>

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GerryM
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 04:31 AM

An episode of the TV show. I found it online once, by ruthless interrogation of Google; I'm sure you can, too.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 05:41 AM

Gee, Mom, I Want to Go Home
Lt. Gitz Rice (1891-1947)

The original song was sung by Canadian soldiers during World War II. With original chorus:

                “Oh, I don't want no more of army life
                Gee ma, I wanna go
                back to Ontario
                Gee ma, I wanna go ho_o_ome!” [wiki]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 08:34 AM

Except for the line "I want to go home!" Gitz Rice has no connection with "Gee, but I Wanna Go home."

The American song had a thematic antecedent in the First World War (from Lorin Kirtley, "The Liaison: A History of Regimental Headquarters Company, One Hundred Thirty Fourth U.S. Field Artillery," 1919):



Oh, the officers live on the top of the hill,
We live down in the dirt and the swill--

They gave me a horse and said I could ride,
I didn't see the shovel on the other side--

A Sam Brown belt would look nice on me,
But I'd rather be back in the U.S.A.—
   I don't want any more army;
   Lordy, how I want to go home.

A longer text, with the tune, is in Edward Arthur Dolph's "Sound Off!" (1928).

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 12:23 PM

Some hot mess. No mentions of the wiki's - mom, biscuits, Ottawa &c &c in Rice's 1917 sheet music. The source was American Children's Folklore, Bronner, 1988. My browser just shows a blank page on the link. Fwiw:

“Written at the Battle of Ypres, 1915
“I WANT TO GO HOME”
Words and Music by
Lieut. GITZ RICE,
1st Canadian Contingent

When first I joined the Army, not so long ago,
I said, “I'd fight the foe, and help Sir Douglas Haig, you know.”
I've been in France just sixteen months, and fighting now as yet,
I haven't seen a German all I've seen is mud and wet.
Tomorrow, when the officer asks “What would you like to do?”
I'm going to stand right up and say, “If it's all the same to you,”

CHORUS
“I want to go home, I want to go home;
The Whiz-bangs and Sharpnel around me do roar,
I don't want this old war anymore;
Take me far o'er the sea,
Where the “Alleman” cannot get me,
Oh, my! I don't want do [sic] die,
I want to go 'ome.” –– 'ome.” –– .”
(Copyright MCMXVII by LEO. FEIST, Inc.)”
[I Want to Go Home, by Rice, Lt. Gitz ]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 01:08 PM

The prolific Rice, at first a Canadian artillery sergeant and later an American vaudevillian, was also co-creator with Sgt. Edward "Red" Rowland, of "Mademoiselle from Armentieres."

During the war he was the star of the Princess Pat's Light Infantry regimental concert party.

The chorus of "I Want to Go Home," variously adapted, was one of the most popular songs throughout the BEF, AIF, and AEF.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 01:27 PM

Discogs and The Library of Congress blame the team of Van Scriver, Darnell* & Kay but quite a few years later.

*Real name Miller - the Irving Berlin of Memphis (!!??)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 01:56 PM

Yeah, in the fall of 1950.

A way to cash in on the Korean War.

But that's show biz!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 04:00 PM

That would explain the M*A*S*H episode I guess. Three wars, three songs, one wiki smash-up.

It looks like the second footnote on the wiki is where the “biscuit” verse cadence and “Gee mom” chorus get added for WWII G.I. show biz. Not mentioned: Moss Hart riffing on Gitz. Cue Thurl Ravenscroft Manly Chorus humming Wild Blue Yonder...

“WINGED VICTORY
A Drama in Two Acts

By Moss Hart

LAST Spring, so the story goes (and goes more truthfully than many similar stories related to sensational stage productions), Moss Hart, dramatist, was sitting in the Oak Room of the Hotel Plaza in New York when a young Air Forces Lieutenant stopped at his table and asked, casually, if he (Hart) would like to do a play about the Air Forces. He would, admitted Mr. Hart, and less than a fortnight later he was in Washington planning the detail of that assignment with Gen. H. H. Arnold, Commander of said Air Forces.

A few days after that Hart found himself aboard a bomber flying toward an Air Force training camp in Mississippi. In the next two months he visited camp after camp. The story also goes that during his research work he assumed both a fake name and a phony uniform, but the probability is strong that the playwright did not fool very many very much.

Hart traveled 28,000 miles in that bomber, though he is frankly allergic to flying. At the end of that time he wrote “Winged Victory” in a little more than three weeks and staged it in seventeen days. Applications were received from 7,000 service men who felt qualified by experience and talent to take part in the show. These were reduced finally to 350, including forty-one wives of soldiers in the show and nine professional actresses….”

“The scene has shifted to a barracks street at an induction training field. The barracks are what every soldier would recognize as pure G.I. Plain wooden structures built quickly right out in the middle of nowhere, and they look it. Right now, however, they are being taken care of as though each one were the Taj Mahal. Soldiers swarm all over them. It is the evening before the regular weekly inspection.... The boys are mostly in fatigues, and those who are not are in shorts and shirts, washing out socks, brushing shoes, and doing all the chores a soldier knows too well.

There is not much talking, but a good deal of singing as one lusty chorus follows another.

“The biscuits in the Army they say are mighty fine,
One rolled off the table and killed a pal of mine,
Oh, I don’t want no more of Army life,
Gee, Mom, I want to go home!”

They ring the changes on that one and then there is a call for “When the War Is Over...”

“Now there is more excitement down the street. A small contingent of WACS comes into view. Whitey is on the job again: “Hi, fellers. G.I. women!” Immediately the barracks bursts into song:

“The Girl on the right is quite all right, parley vous.
The Girl on the right is quite all right, parley vous.
The Girl on the right is quite all right,
But her uniform’s a little tight,
Inky, dinky, parley vous!”

The Girl on the right pulls her uniform down self-consciously, and gets out of step. That’s a laugh. But the boys go right on singing….”
[The Best Plays of 1943-44, Mantle, ed., 1944]
Winged Victory (play)(1943)
Winged Victory (film)(1944)
Moss Hart (1904–1961)

Subject: ADD Version: Gee Mom, I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 04:30 PM

Most of the above and more:

“Biscuits in the army
They say are mighty fine.
One rolled off the table
And killed a buddy of mine.

Coffee in the army
They say is mighty fine.
It’s good for cuts and bruises
And tastes like iodine.

The pay in the army
They say is mighty fine.
They give you fifty dollars
And take back forty-nine.

The turkey in the army
They say is mighty fine.
One jumped off the table
And chased a buddy of mine.

The chickens in the army
They say are mighty fine.
One came in the army
And killed a buddy of mine.

The girls in the army
They say are mighty fine.
You ask for Betty Grable
They give you Frankenstein.

Shoes in the army
They say are mighty fine.
You ask for number seven
They give you triple-nine.(12)

12. The Michigan State section of the Indiana Archives contains more than a dozen of this type under “G. I. Army Songs.” Army beds, boots, rifles, officers, and pancakes all come in for ridicule. For a close variant on the army chow verse see Agnes N. Underwood, “Folklore from G. I. Joe,” New York Folklore Quarterly , III (1947), 287-288. She says that similar verses are also part of songs debunking Navy life. In his American Folklore (Chicago, 1959), 275, Richard M. Dorson mentions that these lines are sung to the tune of “Old Chisholm Trail.” He includes a chorus:

        I don’t like Navy life.
        Gee Mom, I want to go
        Right back to Quantico
        Gee Mom, I want to go home.

Parodies on the army verses can be found in a number of college songs in the Indiana Archives. In the Michigan State section, stanzas describing dormitory life at the university as well as the rigors of campus life at Sullins and Stephens Colleges offer a wide variation on a fixed theme. Under “College Songs” in the Indiana University division of the archives, a verse sung at nurses’ training school is worth quoting:

        The chickens at St. Mary’s
        They say are mighty fine.
        The nuns get all the white meat
        And I get the behind.”
[Carey, A Collection of Airborne Cadence Chants, Journal of American Folklore, vol.78, no.307, 1965]
187th Infantry Regiment (United States)

Subject: ADD Version: Gee Mom, I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 05:31 PM

Marching to the barracks for the first time:

Gee Mom, I Wanna Go Home

“Oooooh, the biscuits in the army
They say are mighty fine.
One rolled off the table
And killed a pal o' mine.

Oh I don't want no more of army life,
Gee mom, I wanna go home.

Oh, the chicken in the army
They say is mighty fine.
One jumped off the table
And started markin' time.

Oh I don't want no more of army life,
Gee mom, I wanna go,
Oh mom, I wanna go,
Gee mom, I wanna go ho-o-ome.”
[Transcribed from Winged Victory (film)(1944)[@12:00m]
Lt. Leonard Etienne De Paur (1914–1998)
Sgt. David Daniel Rose (1910–1990)

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 05:48 PM

The MASH version

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Thomas Stern
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 05:57 PM

Lead Belly sang it on the Folkways album Memorial V.1
https://folkways-media.si.edu/docs/folkways/artwork/FW02034.pdf

also on Last Sessions, don't see text in booklet.

Thomas.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Thomas Stern
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 07:30 PM

correction: EASY RIDER Leadbelly Legacy Volume Four
             Folkways FP 34, FA 2034

Thomas.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 04:29 AM

Leadbelly recorded in 1948. Either the c.1946 Seeger & Hays 'traditional' version for People's Song was extra spicy or the ignorance & irony, both Left & Right, is off the scale here...

“The SPEAKER. Under previous order of the House, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. DONDERO] is recognized for 30 minutes.
AMERICANS TAKE NOTICE-SCHOOL OF POLITICAL ACTION TECHNIQUES
Mr. DONDERO. Mr. Speaker, it is my purpose to expose what I believe to be a Communist fraud which is being perpetuated upon the people of the city of Washington through the guise of a so-called School of Political Action Techniques to be conducted by the National Citizens Political Action Committee…

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS-FACULTY AND ADVISERS
...Lee Hays and Peter Seeger are, respectively, executive director and director of People's Songs, Inc. This organization is described in the Worker of March 31, 1946, page 7, and February 24, 1946, page 7. On May 9, 1946, this organization gave a concert at the New York Town Hall, for which tickets were on sale at the Communist Workers Bookshop. The affair was advertised in the Daily Worker. People's Songs has composed, according to the Worker, songs "that sounded like an army wanting to march nowhere but to home,” including I Just Want To Go Home, and I Don't Want No More of Army Life, Gee, Ma, I Want To Go Home. These songs were sung to GI's. Lee Hays and Peter Seeger were members of the Almanac Singers, which composed anti American songs for the American Peace Mobilization, which picketed the White House in 1941.”
[Congressional Record, United States Congress, 1946]
Rep. George Anthony Dondero (1883–1968)

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 04:31 AM

“GEE BUT I WANT TO GO HOME
Well, the coffee that they give you
They say is mighty fine;
It's good for cuts and bruises
And tastes like iodine.

CHORUS:
I don't vant no more of Army life,
Gee, but I want to go home.

The buscuits that they give you
They say are mighty fine,
One rolled off the table
And it killed a pal of mine.
(CHORUS)

The chickens that they give you
They say are mighty fine.
One rolled off the table
And started marking time.
(CHORUS)

Well, the girls in the PX
They say are mighty fine;
Most are over ninety
And the rest are under nine.
(CHORUS)

Oh, they treat us all like monkeys
And make us stand in line.
They give us fifty dollars
And take back forty-nine.
(CHORUS)
[Liner notes, Pete Seeger, American Favorite Ballads, Vol.4, Folkways FA2323, 1961, trk. B7]
American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 4

Note: No song history or mention of Gitz Rice.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 04:37 AM

Updated for 2006 rerelease:

“18.ARMY LIFE Pete Seeger, vocal and banjo (Also known as “Gee, But I Want to Go Home,” “I Don’t Want No More Army,” and others; words and music by Gitz Rice; from Folkways 2323, 1961) There are few professional soldiers in the United States, and the armies that have fought in American wars have been composed mostly of “citizen-soldiers.” That does not mean that professionals did not fight and die; it means that the majority of soldiers were either drafted or volunteered: they were not professionals. Usually each war has called upon a different decade of citizens, and each has developed its own “soldier verse and soldier balladry.” John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax wrote that “From the very first days of training, . . . the most popular of all soldier songs in World War II was ‘Gee, But I Want to Go Home.’ This is an adaptation of a British song of World War I composed by Lt. Gitz Rice.” Rice was born in Nova Scotia, and during the Great War (World War I) served with the Canadian Army in Europe. He was a songwriter and pianist; he fought in battles, but became deeply involved in creating entertainment for the other soldiers. This song is just one of many that he wrote. When adapted by U. S. soldiers, the song became a bitter, but humorous statement about army life. Pete served in World War II and knew that the experience was not humorous, but humor can be a valuable defense. Pete’s friend Lead Belly recorded it in 1948 during his last sessions, using the title “I Don’t Want No More Army Life” (SF 40068/71). See Brunnings 1981:8, 105; Lomax and Lomax 1947:115, 124–25; www.collectionscanada.ca/gramophone.
[Liner notes, Pete Seeger, American Favorite Ballads, Vol.4, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, SFW40153, 2006, trk. 18, as Army Life.]
American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 4

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 04:42 AM

“The coffee that they give you
Is mighty, mighty fine,
It's fit for cuts and bruises
And tastes like iodine.
I don't want no more of army life,
Gee mom I wanna go home.

The biscuits that they serve you
Are also very fine,
One fell right off the table
And killed a pal of mine.
I don't want no more of army life,
Gee mom I wanna go home.

The uniforms they give you
Are tailor made to fit,
The blouse fits like a gunny sack,
The pants so tight they quit.
I don't want no more of army life,
Gee mom I wanna go home.

Our sergeant he's a fine one,
We've never seen him drunk,
But under all the fancy stripes
At heart he is a skunk.
I don't want no more of army life,
Gee mom I wanna go home.

The gals we never get to see
We miss 'em very much,
You just can't substitute the dames
With movie screens and such.
I don't want no more of army life,
Gee mom I wanna go,
Gee mom I wanna go,
Gee mom I wanna go home.”
Transcribed from: Texas Jim Robertson & the Panhandle Punchers - I Don't Want No More of Army Life
(Van Sciver, Darnell & Kay c.1950)

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 04:43 AM

“Beginning in the 1940s, Miller frequently wrote with his second wife, Esther Van Sciver. He collaborated with her until a little over a year before her death in 1952.97 The last copyright entry for the two of them (Esther Van Sciver and pseudonym Shelby Darnell) was “I Don’t Want No More of Army Life, Gee, Mom, I Want To Go Home,” which fittingly stems from a song dating back to World War II, from December 29, 1950”
[Bob Miller: The Irving Berlin of Memphis, Roberts, 2020]


Bob Miller AKA: Ben Burd, Bill Palmer, Bob Burnett, Bob Ferguson, Bob Hill, Bob Stukeley, Bud Thompson, Floyd Carter, Joe Adams, Memphis Bob, Slick Palmer, Trebor Rellim.

Note: Depending on how all the release dates finally sort out, the Korean War era Van Sciver, Darnell & Kay take is much closer to Seeger-Hays, or vice versa, who knows. Moss Hart & Winged Victory, never get a mention. Gitz Rice is further away still.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 07:12 AM

"Kay" of Van Sciver, Darnell & Kay was Bob Miller's first wife:

“I don't want no more of army life, gee mom I want to go home; w & melody Charlotte Kackley. © 1c. Apr. 14, 1944; E unp. 371228; Main street songs, inc., New York. 16387”
[U.S. Catalog of Copyright Entries, pt.III, GPO, 1944]

“Miller also used pseudonyms for his first wife in Memphis. Charlotte Thompson used the names Charlotte Kay and Charlotte Kackley when co-writing “Ain’t Gonna Grieve My Mind Anymore” and “Once” in the 1920s.”
[Roberts]

Charlotte Miller
Charlotte Kay

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 07:32 AM

Correction: Three wars; two songs...

Charlotte Kackley has a composer credit for Winged Victory.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 08:09 AM

In the absence of pre-April, 1944, evidence, it looks like "Charlotte Kackley" was the composer of "Gee, Mom."

The tune is somewhat reminiscent of "MacNamara's Band" (1889). Too bad Kackley's sheet music isn't available on line.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 10:19 AM

The "Whizz-bangs" couplet of Rice's song has the same tune as the "Bless all the sergeants" couplet of Jimmy Hughes, Frank Lake, and Fred Godfrey's "Bless 'Em All."

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 12:08 PM

I don't see how the chorus of "Gee, Mom" could be sung to that of "The Old Chisholm Trail."

C. B. Wiland recalled this from USN basic in WW2 ("In Passing," 2012):

"The coffee that they serve you, they say is mighty fine, it's good for cuts and bruises and tastes like iodine. I don't want no more navy life, gee mom I want to come home....

"The turkey that they give you, they say is mighty fine, one jumped off the table, and killed a pal of mine...."

Charles Furey heard this in 1945 ("Going Back," 1997):

"The beans they serve in the Navy
They say are mighty fine,
A bowl of them exploded and killed a pal of mine.

"I don't want no more of Navy life.
Gee, but I gotta go. Gosh, but I gotta go.
Oh, but I wanna go home."

Larry Sinatra of the battleship USS Maryland recalled this from 1944-45:

    "The coffee in the navy, they say it’s mighty fine
    It’s good for cuts and bruises and tastes like iodine
    I don’t want no more of this Navy life
    Gee but I want to go home!"

From "Songs Girl Scouts Love to Sing" (2009?):

"GEE, MA I WANT TO GO HOME
CHORUS #1:
I don’t want no more of camp life, Gee, but I want to go,
HEY MOM! I want to go, Gee, but I want to go home.

CHROUS [sic] #2:
I don’t want to go to Girl Scout Camp, Gee, Mom I
wanna go,
But they won’t let me go, Gee Mom, I wanna go home.

CHROUS [sic] #3:
I don’t want to go to Girl Scout Camp! Gee Ma, I wanna
go,
Back where the toilets flow, Gee, Ma, I wanna go home!

The kool-aid that they give you, they say is mighty fine.
It’s good for cuts and bruises, and it tastes like iodine.

The biscuits that they give you, they say are mighty fine,
One rolled off a table and it killed a pal of mine.

The chickens that they give you, they say are mighty fine,
One fell off the table and it started marking time.

The kapers that they give you, they say are mighty fine.
The garbage that we pick up, they feed us all the time.

The busses that they give us, they say are mighty fine,
But when they turn the corners, they leave the wheels behind.

The leaders that they give us, they say are mighty fine,
But when they take their makeup off they look like Frankenstein.

The nurses that they give us, they say are mighty fine,
But when you break your big toe, she breaks the other nine.

The cookies that they give you, they say are mighty fine,
But one rolled off the table and killed a friend of mine.

The toilets that they give you, they say are mighty fine,
But when you try to flush them, they suck off your behind!

The kool-aid that give you, they say are mighty fine,
But when you try to drink it, it tastes like turpentine.

The noodles that they give you, they say are mighty fine.
They dunk them in the toilet, and hang them on the line.

The food at our camp, they say is mighty fine.
A pea rolled off the table and killed a pal of mine.

The chicken at our camp, they say is mighty fine,
But once two drumsticks got up and started beating time.

The coffee at our camp, they say is mighty fine.
It looks like mud and water and taste like turpentine.

The nurses that they give you, they say are mighty fine.
My friend had a hang-nail, her funeral’s at nine.

The girls that they give you, they say are mighty fine.
Most are over ninety, the rest are under nine.

The boys that they give you, they say are mighty fine.
Some are fat and ugly, the rest are three foot nine!

The beds that they give you, they say are mighty fine.
You wake up in the morning with wrinkles in your spine.

The cooks that they give you, they say are mighty fine.
Last night they served us leftovers from 1959!

The showers that they give you, they say are mighty fine,
But who likes ice cold water every single time.

The counselors that they give you, they say are mighty fine.
We get up at seven, they get up at nine.

The food that they give you, they say is mighty fine.
They wash it in soapsuds and hang it on the line.

Note: In some areas each verse is preceded by singing
'Girl Scout Camp, Girl scout Camp.'"

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 01:02 PM

Interestingly this writer explicitly dates the song to Keesler Army Air Field, Ill., in 1942 ("Pie Dufour's A la mode," N.O. States, Aug. 25, 1955):


"There was the many-versed one about the things that they say are mighty fine, as for instance:

Oh, the doughnuts that they give you,
   They say are mighty fine,
But one rolled off the table,
   and crippled a pal o' mine.

I don't want no more army life,
Gee Mom, I wanna go,
Gee Mom, I wanna go,
Gee Mom, I wanna go home.

"One of the verses concerned the coffee, which was 'good for cuts and bruises, and tastes like iodine.'

"Another verse was about the shoes - 'You ask for size 11, they give you No. 9.

"Still another concerned the sleepability of your mattress:

Oh, the mattress that they give you,
    They say is mighty fine,
It's stuffed with broken rocks
    And quills of a porcupine.

"There were many other verses, many improvisations, but they elude my memory."

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 02:58 PM

And here's proof that the song existed before 1944, from Milton Caniff's popular "Terry and the Pirates" comic strip, Dec. 14, 1942:

"The coffee in the army -
They say is mighty fine -
It's good for cuts and bruises -
And tastes like iodine,"

The "Pomona [Calif.] Progress Bulletin" (Mar. 1, 1943) has a pancake "that they feed us" rolling off the table and killing someone, also the verse about the iodine coffee - as sung in Clearwater, Fla.

"The [Baltimore] Sun" (April 10, 1943) reports from the navy:

"The turkey that they serve us,
They say it is the best.
All we get is a hunk of the neck,
The officers get the rest.

Now, the coffee that they give us,
They say it's mighty fine.
It's good for cuts and bruises,
And it tastes like iodine.

When comes the time for payday,
We get cash on the line.
They pay us fifty dollars,
Then they fine us forty-nine."

To the coffee verse, Rochester, N.Y., "Democrat and Chronicle" (May 16, 1943), adds the chorus:

"I don't want no more of army life,
Gee, Ma, I want to go home."

Coffee, biscuits, shoes, and pay are the subjects addressed routinely in a WAC version printed in the "Caledonian-Record" of St. Johnsbury, Vt. (July 28, 1943).

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 04:09 PM

Main Street Songs, Inc. was the Miller's BMI imprint so the '44 copyright may just be back office paperwork for the movie.

The play came out in December of 1943. So if any part of the Moss Hart back story is real, the 'based on the true story' AAF cadences should already be in pretty good circulation.

fwiw Seeger &co.: Bob Miller Songs, Inc. published Joe Hill!

fwiw Gitz Rice: Bob Miller and his Hinky Dinkers, feat. Charlotte Miller. And at least one copyright on Hinky, Dinky, Parley Voo (1936) Wouldn't be too surprised if it's the same one or similar in Winged Victory.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 06:06 PM

Enter Oscar Brand:

"G.I. American Army Songs" (1956)

[Cho:] Oh, I don’t want no more of army life,
Gee, Mom, I wanna go home.

They tell you in the army,
The coffee’s mighty fine.
It’s good for cuts and bruises,
And it tastes like i-o-dine.

They tell you in the mess hall.
The chicken’s mighty fine.
One stepped off the table,
And he started markin’ time.

We get on parade ground,
And stand and march and sweat.
The captain sits and watches
Like a blinkin’ violet.

They tell you in the mess hall,
The biscuits they are fine.
One fell off the table,
And it crushed a foot of mine.

You work for the shavetail,
You do your work and then,
The captain comes around,
And you do it over again.

They tell you in the army,
The uniforms are fine.
Me and my detachment
Can all get into mine.

Brand's "Tell It to the Marines!" (1960):

Yatatata! Yatatata! Yatatatatatata!

I don't want no more of the U.S. Marines,
Gee, but I wanna go,
Right back to Quantico,
Gee, but I wanna go home!

They say when you're enlisted,
Promotions are mighty fine.
Well, I'm a goddamn private,
I've been in over nine.

[Cho.:]
I don't want no more of the U.S. Marines,
I just want to go home!

The uniform they give us,
They say is sure to fit.
We walk along the highway,
We look like a sack of...grit.

The shelter half they give us,
To keep us from the wet,
A friend of mine lay down in one,
They haven't found him yet.

The officers they give us
Can stand up to the worst.
You find them every weekend
Shacked up with a nurse.

The shoes they give the gyrenes,
They say are mighty fine.
You need a number seven,
They give you number nine.

The bed sacks that they give you,
They say are mighty fine.
How in the hell should I know?
I never slept in mine.

The crap house that they give us
Is mighty cold and bare.
The wind blows through the open seat,
And tickles your curly hair.

They say if you're in the Marine Corps,
Then you're the very best.
Well, they can take the fighting,
And we'll go take a rest.

I don't want no more of the U.S. Marines.
Gee but I wanna go,
Right back to Quantico,
Gee, but I wanna go home!


Marine Robert Leckie ("Strong Men Armed," 1962), referring to WW2, starts off with the familiar coffee stanza, then gives Brand's about promotions, bed sacks, and nurses. Since he also gives Brand's two choruses, I have to suspect that these stanzas came to him from Brand's 1960 LP.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 07:42 PM

We're probably missing an official, approved AAF basic song book or something like it. Birmingham-Southern College was the classroom for Roberts Field AAF glider training (later Birmingham Army Airfield.)

“Dear Mom:
I sure am glad I joined the army––BUT!!
The coffee that they give us, they
        say is very fine.
It's good for cuts and bruises, and
        tastes like iodine!
Oh-h-! I don't want no more of army
        life––
Gee Mom, I want to go home.

The pancakes that they give us,
        they say are very fine,
But one fell off the table and killed
        a pal of mine!
Oh-h-! I don't want no more of army
        life––
Gee Mom, I want to go home.

The chicken that they serve us,
        they say is mighty fine.
But one jumped off the table, and
        started marking time!
Oh-h-! I don't want no more of army
        life––
Gee Mom, I want to go home.

The dough the army pays us, they
        say is mighty fine,
They give you $50.00 and take back
        $49.
Oh-h-! I don't want no more of army
        life––
Gee Mom, I want to go home.

The girls we left behind us, they
        say are doing fine,
I'd like to catch the sonofagun
        that's running around with mine!
Oh-h-! I don't want no more of army
        life––
Gee Mom, I want to go home.

The shoes the army gave us, they
        say are mighty fine.
You ask for number seven and they
        give you number nine.
Oh-h-! I don't want no more of army
        life––
Gee Mom, I want to go home.

You see Mom, I am probably the best soldier in the army, because the sargeant [sic] said all good soldiers beef. I sure do my share, hopes he appreciates it. Please send me my orange tie with the purple polka dots, I want to wear it if we ever get out of quarantine.
        Your loving son––HOWIE U. ALL.
[The Hilltop News, Birmingham-Southern College (Alabama) 12 March 1943]

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 12 Feb 23 - 07:43 PM

“Fort Des Moines Staging Area Is 'Rich' with WAAC Customs
...The Staging Area mess sergeant is one of the longest suffering indiviuals on the post. For not only must she supervise cooking for a company that is too excited to eat, but she must listen also to pointed serenades, the mildest of which is:

“The chicken that they serve us
They say is mighty fine.
My leg jumped off the table
And started marking time.

They say the eggs you serve us
Are fresh as they can be.
Mine got up this morning
And crowed for reveille.

The biscuits that you serve us
They say are mighty fine.
One fell off the table
And killed a pal of mine.”
[Army Times, vol.3, no.43, 5 June 1943]

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Feb 23 - 09:28 AM

Great finds, Phil.

From Pvt. Frank A. Casey in the South Pacific, "The Indian Citizen " (Atoka, Oklahoma), Nov. 25, 1943 (chorus repeats; non-rhymes sic):


GEE, MOM, I WANT TO GO HOME

The pork in the army they say is mighty fine,
I get the bone and the sarg[e] gets the rest.
I don't want no more of this army life,
Gee, mom, I want to go home.

The bread in the army they say is mighty fine,
I threw some at the cook and killed a Buddy of mine....

The turkey in the army they say is mighty fine
I get the neck and feathers, the Louies get the rest....

The pancakes in the army they say are mighty fine,
One rolled off the table and killed a Buddy of mine....

The sergeants in the army, I guess they are all right,
But they wake you up in the morning before the bugle call....

********

In a different song dating to ca1900, the "sergeants" lines appears as:

The sergeant, the sergeant, he is the worst of all;
He gets you up in the morning before the early call.]

********

To his 1956 text, Brand adds as stz. 2 in his 1961 paperback "Folksongs for Fun":

They tell you in the service club
The girls are mighty fine,
The most is over fifty and
The rest is under nine.


(GI's were more likely to have sung "USO" than the unnecessarily vague "service club.")

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Feb 23 - 12:16 PM

A girls' summer camp version, coll. in Kokomo, Ind., 1970, in Simon J. Bronner, "American Children’s Folklore" (1988).

Comedienne Phyllis Diller became a household name in the mid-to-late ‘60s.

The biscuits up at camp they say are mighty fine
One fell off the table and killed a friend of mine.
Oh Gee, I want to go to Porcupine [sic],
Gee Dad, I want to go, oh how I want to go,
Gee Dad, I want to go to camp, camp, camp, camp,
Camp, camp, camp, camp.
The drivers up at camp they say are mighty great
They drive around a corner and end up in the lake.
The boys up at camp they say are mighty fine
Most are over eighty, the rest are under nine.
The leaders up at camp they say are mighty fine
With hair like Phyllis Diller and a face like Frankenstein.
The trails up at camp they say are mighty great
Walk a half a mile, get bitten by a snake.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Feb 23 - 12:37 PM

Finally found it on Fresno State under Gee, but....

Seeger & Brand only. No mention of Rice, Hart or the Millers. There is some mention of the American Civil War but not much to work with. I wouldn't think so but, who knows?

Gee, But I Want to Go Home

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Feb 23 - 02:18 PM

Besides those I've found in the past few days, I see I've collected more than 25 texts over the years.

Bottom line: Most recollected versions are between two and five stanzas. They usually start with coffee, then go through biscuits/pancakes/doughnuts/rolls, chicken/turkey, shoes, and pay. Other topics in order of interest are apparently girls, movies, mattresses, jeeps, and sergeants, and nurses, with any number of other possibilities.

Some 20 army-related stanzas are at
http://www.combat.ws/S4/SAMIZDAT/WANGOHOM.HTM (2023)

One text, much like the Lomaxes', is from the British Army (WW2 or later), and one 2-stanza text is from the Royal Navy likewise. There are several Canadian versions with "back to Ontario," but since U.S. exx. also exist with "Quantico" and "Buffalo," that doesn't mean (as Wikipedia suggests), that the song is of Canadian origin. I would guess that Antipodal versions also exist.

One more early text (Miami Herald, May 29, 1943):
                                    
                           “Chow Song”
                      (Has a tune of its own)

The coffee that they serve us, they say is mighty fine;
It’s good for cuts and bruises, it tastes like iodine.
       Oh, I don’t want no more of army life,
       Gee, Mom, I wanta go home!

The doughnuts that they serve us, they say are mighty fine;
One fell off the table and killed a pal of mine.
       Oh, I don’t want no more…etc.

The chicken that they give you, they say is mighty fine;
One jumped off the table and started marking time.
       Oh, I don’t want no more…etc.

The women in Miami, they say are mighty fine;
Most are over ninety, the rest are under nine.
       Oh, I don’t want no more…etc.

The pay that they give you, they say is mighty fine;
They give you fifty dollars and take back forty-nine.
       Oh, I don’t want no more…etc.

The shoes that they give you, they say are mighty fine;
You ask for number seven, they give you number nine.
       Oh, I don’t want no more…etc.

The sergeant in the mess hall, he gives us all a pain;
We’d like to take the sergeant and shove him down a drain.
       Oh, I don’t want no more…etc.


"The Old Chisholm Trail" was mentioned above as an alternative tune, suggesting a text learned from print, mimeograph, etc.

WAC Anne Bosanko Green recollected (even more oddly) that the stanzas were sung to "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and the chorus to "The Church's One Foundation"!

The only tune in print or on audio, however, is "its own tune."

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Feb 23 - 07:51 PM

Completely forgot, cadet/private Pete Seeger was just one promotion away from USAAF Tech before the FBI got their hooks in him (Keesler Field, Biloxi, MS*.)

“A number of the songs we used to sing back in Air Force training camps one doesn't hear much of….. the numerous marching ditties, such as “I've Got Sixpence”, “Ten More Miles to Go”, etc. However, this famous one is still sung:

        “The coffee that they give you
        “They say is mighty fine,
        “It's good for cuts and bruises
        “And tastes like iodine.
        Chorus:         I don't want no more of army life
                        Gee but I want to go home!”

[Report from the Marianas: Notes of an Innocent Bystander, Seeger, 1945]
Report from the Marianas

*Playwright Neil Simon passed through Biloxi at about the same time (Biloxi Blues). Name to the contrary, many of the Tuskeegee Airmen were also trained & stationed at Biloxi.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Feb 23 - 07:55 PM

Looks like Pete Seeger also got assigned to a Pacific Theater Army production that never got released:

Pete Seeger: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection, Smithsonian Folkways, SFW40225, 2019, 4xCD (Liner notes only. No song) ––

“Audio Recordings in the Moses and Frances Asch Collection Compiled by Jeff Place from the Collections in the Smithsonian 2010, revised 2016. The recordings in this list are a full inventory of Pete Seeger recordings in the Smithsonian collection which are not master tapes. They exist in various formats…”

Operation Saipan (1945) – Gee, But I Want to Go Home (Army Life). Seven (7) recordings total.

The Smithsonian Folkways Collection, Pete Seeger

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Feb 23 - 08:01 PM

Leadbelly revisited –– At least three recordings. A mix of 'clean' and 'subversive' lyrics; a cappella, singalong w/audiences and solo. The interwebs given dates and sound samples are darn near worthless.

Army Life, Leadbelly, Easy rider, Folkways Records, FP 34, 1950, LP, trk.B4 (1:45)

From the various center labels: “All songs words & music by Huddie Ledbetter” “Recorded by Moses Asch January '41––'46”
Liner notes: “Sensitive as performer, he knew he had to find new words. Out of trial and error came the songs Jim Crow, Army Life, and Hitler Song….

Singalong vocals & guitar:

Army Life
The clothes that they give you they say are mighty fine,
But me and my buddy could both fit in-to mine
I don't want no more of Army life.
Gee but I want to go home.

The shoes that they give you, they say
        are mighty fine;
Ask for number seven boys, they will
        give you number nine.

Chorus
The hot dogs that they give you, they
        say are very fine;
One rolled off the table and it started
        marking time.

Chorus
The coffee that they give you, the say
        it was mighty fine;
It tastes like something else and it's
        just like iodine.

Chorus
The biscuits that they give you, they
        say are mighty fine;
One jumped off the table and knocked
        out a pal of mine.

Chorus
The money that they give you, they say
        was mighty fine;
Ask for fifty dollars and they take back
        forty nine.

Chorus
When you go out to vote tell me who
        you gonna put on your mind?
When you go out to vote just register
        and take your time.

Chorus
We don't want no more war, boy and
        I got it on my mind;
And when you go out and register you
        better take your time.

Chorus
The food is getting higher – getting
        higher every day,
But, boy, the money I'm getting it
        ain't enough to pay.”
Easy Rider, Lead Belly
Leadbelly – Easy Rider

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 13 Feb 23 - 08:15 PM

I Don't Want No More Army Life; Lead Belly, Lead Belly's Last Sessions, Folkways Records, FP 241, 1953, 2xLP, band 32.

Liner notes: Recorded September 27, 1948. A cappella. No lyric sheet but mostly the same as above.
Leadbelly – Leadbelly's Last Sessions Volume One


I Don't Want No More Of Army Life, Leadbelly “Live”, Document Records, DOCD-5676, 2004, CD, trk.17 (2:48)

Liner notes: KUT Radio, University of Austin, Texas, 15 June 1949. Guitar & singalong vocals: Clothes, shoes, hot dogs, coffee, biscuits, money. Nothing salty.
Leadbelly – "Live": New York 1947 & Austin, Texas 1949

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 14 Feb 23 - 04:42 AM

Yet another Leadbelly variation: Gee, But I Want To Go Home

Link is from: Chord Req: Army Life (Leadbelly)

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 16 Feb 23 - 06:28 AM

It's official:

“THE G.I. SONG
1st Verse:
The coffee that they give you,
They say is mighty fine,
It's good for cuts and bruises
And tastes like iodine,

2nd Verse:
The pancakes that they serve you
They say are mighty fine
One fell off the table
And killed a pal of mine.

3rd Verse:
The soup that the yserve you
They say is mighty fine
A bowl fell off the table
And scalded ninety-nine.

4th Verse:
The chicken that they give you
They say is mighty fine
One fell off the table
And started marking time.

5th Verse:
The shoes that the issue
They say are mighty fine
You ask for number seventeen
They give you number nine

6th Verse:
Your wife comes to see you
The put you on K.P.
They put you on the clipper
A Helluva place to be,

7th Verse:
The girls that they give us
They say are mighty fine
Some are over ninety
The others under nine.

CHORUS
I don't want no more of Army life
Gee Mom, I wanta go home.”
[AAFTC, Morale Singing Program, Keesler Field Song Book, July 1943]

Col. Robert E.M. Goolrick, Commanding Officer
Lt. Col. Harry G. Douglas, Dir. of Band Training
2nd. Lt. Alexander M. Sulloway, Post Morale Singing Officer
Army Air Forces Training Command

Note: See Keesler references above. Pete Seeger was probably at Keesler, AFB when Moss Hart passed through in July-August 1942. Neil Simon's turn was nearer the end of WWII, c.1945.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 16 Feb 23 - 06:29 AM

“BULLSHIT SONG
The coffee that they give us,
They say is mighty fine.
It's good for cuts and bruises,
And tastes like iodine.

Chorus:
Oh, I don't want any more
        of this bullshit,
I just want to go home.

The chicken that they give us
They say it is the best,
We get the neck and the asshole,
The officers get the rest.
CHORUS:

If you want to go to Frisco,
To get a piece of ass.
You've got to see the Sergeant Major
And get a goddam pass.
CHORUS:”
[Unititled Marine Songbook, W.W.W., c.1943]

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 16 Feb 23 - 05:41 PM

MASH television version transcription:
A chaplain in the army
Has a collar round his neck
If you don't listen to him
You will all end up in heck

The surgeons in the army
They say we're mighty bright
We work on soldiers through the day
And nurses through the night

They say that friendships in the army
Are mighty rare
So I spend all my playtime
Carousing with my bear

The trenchers in the army
They claim they are profound
But watch for chopper pilots
They will get you on the ground

The corprals in the army
They say we are mighty green
But if it weren't for us guys
You would be a latrine

Some guys like the army
But I think it is a mess
If it were so terrific
Then why do I wear a dress

Oh the nurses in the army
They have not tied the knot
But this one's going try it
With Donald Penobascot.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Renewal, spring is in the air

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 16 Feb 23 - 10:45 PM

The play had five verses:

“ACT ONE
Scene II
(The Soldiers)

The biscuits in the army they say are mighty fine.
One rolled off the table and killed a pal of mine.
Oh, I don't want no more of Army life,
Gee, Mom, I want to go home!

The chicken in the Army they say is mighty fine.
One jumped off the table and started marching time.
Oh, I don't want no more of Army life,
Gee, Mom, I want to go home!

Payday in the Army they say is mighty fine.
They give you fifty dollars and fine you forty-nine.
Oh, I don't want no more of Army life,
Gee, Mom, I want to go home!

Furloughs in the Army they say are mighty fine.
They put it down on paper, but where the hell is mine?
Oh, I don't want no more of Army life,
Gee, Mom, I want to go home!

The coffee in the Army they say is mighty fine.
It's good for cuts and bruises and tastes like iodine.
Oh, I don't want no more of Army life,
Gee, Mom, I want to go home!”
[Winged Victory, The Army Air Forces Play, Hart, 1943]

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 16 Feb 23 - 10:48 PM

“After the death of Esther Van Sciver in 1952, Miller married his third wife, Nita Crabbe, on June 1, 1953. In a wedding announcement, she was said to be a veteran attorney and civil engineer. Unfortunately, not much else is known of her. She seems to have been living in Nyack, New York, where Miller lived, just before their wedding. Also, per the Catalog of Copyright Entries, she was renewing copyrights on Miller’s songs throughout the 1960s and 1970s.”
[Roberts]


(I DON'T WANT NO MORE OF ARMY LIFE) GEE, MOM, I WANT TO GO HOME; w&m Charlotte Kackley, pseud. of Bob Miller. © 14Apr44; EU371228. Nita Crabbe Miller Spivey Thrash (W): 17Mar72; R525154.”
[Music January-June 1972, Catalog of Copyright Entries Third Series, Vol.26, Pt.5, Secs.1-2, 1973]

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 07:52 AM

After the introduction of the draft in 1940, the American press was always on the lookout for lighthearted stories of army life.

If the song had been *widely* known much before the spate of references in late '42 - early '43, my guess is that it would have been reported on.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: cnd
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 09:36 AM

This always brings me to the "Kickin' My Dawg Around" dilemma -- everyone said it was widely known before the 1912 election, but no other sources can be found. It's hard to say in retrospect, though the inclination is to say it was not.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 11:16 AM

The difference is that there would have been little impulse to report the existence of a lyric like "They better quit kickin' my dog around."

Also, the dog song went to the fiddle tune of "Sally Ann" ("Great big Taters in Sandy Land," etc.), leading to two contrasting possibilities:

1. People with an imperfect memory of words sung to "Sally Ann" might easily be led to believe that the dog lyrics had long been known, or

2. The lyrics had been known, at least in Missouri, but like so many words to fiddle tunes, nobody cared enough to mention them earlier.

My own view is that it's impossible to know, but if pressed I'd go with No. 1.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 11:38 AM

Lighter: Do you have a copy of Bronner's American Children's Folklore? If so, what was his source for Gitz Rice?

No shortage of American university/college/school songbooks between the wars either. Not a trace so far.

I do know this much for certain:   
a. The Millers even claimed Found a Peanut at one point. But if they lifted this one from Gitz Rice they certainly covered both his & their tracks well.

b. The Smithonian-Folkways sources are completely bogus. It was in Pete Seeger's G.I. songbook and he recorded a half dozen+ takes for the Army before Folkways & Leadbetter.

c. A Mudcat thread is the best reference out there.

Ooooh the songs in the Army they say are mighty fine...

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 10:05 PM

I've just double-checked Bronner: no mention at all of Gitz Rice.

Moreover, contrary to Carey, Richard Dorson did not say that "Gee, Mom" was ever sung to the tune of "The Old Chisholm Trail."

What he said was:

"The most representative [American military folksong] is known by its chorus, 'Gee mom, I want to go home.' Adopted by the Army, Navy, and Marines, this lugubrious plaint echoes such favorite ballads of the cowboys as 'The Old Chisholm Trail' and of the lumberjacks as 'The Shantyman's Life.'"

"Lugubrious?" Had Dorson never heard the song sung? It's wry satire, not a "plaint." Few GIs would seriously call upon "Mom" in front of their barracks mates.

He gives five stanzas (no tune) with ellipses to indicate lines omitted - no indication why:

                      "I Don't Like Navy Life"

They say that in the Navy
The biscuits are so fine
But one fell off the table
And killed a pal of mine.

CHORUS:

I don't like Navy life.
Gee, Mom, I want to go
Right back to Quantico,
Gee mom, I want to go home.

They say that in the Navy
The pay is very fine.
They give you fifty dollars
And take back forty-nine.

They say that in the Navy
The coffee is so fine.
It's good for cuts and bruises
and tastes like iodine.

They say that in the Navy
The chicken is so fine.
A leg dropped off the table
And started marking time,

. . . . .

They say that in the Navy
The clothes are mighty fine,
But I need Lana Turner
To fill out part of mine.

. . . . .

It would be unlikely for a sailor to wanna go "back to Quantico," which in WW2 was primarily a Marine Corps base. Possibly Dorson's source replaced "Marine Corps" with "Navy" and kept "Quantico" for the rhyme.

Another full WW2 text is in New York Folklore Quarterly in 1947, collected by Agnes Nolan Underwood from one or more of her students:

The coffee that they serve you
   They say is mighty fine;
It's good for cuts and bruises
   And it tastes like iodine.
I don't want no more of Navy chow,
Gee Ma, I wanna go home.

[Next comes the marching chicken, then:]

The spaghetti that they serve you
    They say is mighty fine;
Some rolled off the table
    and hung a friend of mine....

[The final stanza is about the doughnuts.]


If I can dig out the similar but less clever WW1 song from Dolph I'll post it tomorrow.

To repeat, it's quite a stretch, despite its popularity, to connect Gitz Rice's song with this one. It's like saying "Louie, Louie" came from "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louie." You can't deny the similarity.
;^)

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 17 Feb 23 - 10:12 PM

This online Navy version is dated 2017. The chorus is gone, suggesting a possible call-and-response pattern:

                  Navy Marching Cadence

They say that in the Navy the coffee’s mighty fine
it looks like muddy water, it tastes like turpentine.

They say that in the Navy, the mail’s so fast it’s great
Today I got a letter dated 1948.

They say that in the Navy the toilets are mighty fine,
you flush them down at seven, they come back up again at nine.

They say that in the Navy the pay is mighty fine,
they give you 100 dollars and take back 99
.
They say that in the Navy the training’s mighty fine
Last night there were ten of us, now there’s only nine.

They say that in the Navy, the meat is mighty fine
Last night we had ten puppies, his morning only nine

They say that in the Navy, the shoes are mighty fine
You ask for size eleven, they give you size nine

They say that in the Navy, the pancakes are mighty fine
You can try to chew them, but you’re only wasting time

They say that in the Navy, the bed’s are mighty fine
But how the hell would I know, I’ve never slept in mine

They say that in the Navy, the hours are just right
Start early in the morning and work on through the night

They say that in the Navy, the buses are mighty fine
One went round the corner, and left three wheels behind

They say that in the Navy, the coffee’s mighty fine
It’s good for cuts and bruises and tastes like iodine

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 18 Feb 23 - 06:11 PM

Mr.Lighter,

The Navy 2017 is fun and different.

Source?

Sincerely,
Gargoyle


Do YOU believe P-Z will ever appear? I view "S" as no issue, "F" was negotiated with finesse.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Booter
Date: 19 Feb 23 - 08:52 AM

There is a British Army version. The only verse I can recall is

They say that in the army the fags (cigarettes ) are very fine
You ask for 20 Capstan
They give you 5 Woodbine
Oompah I want to go
But they won’t let me
Oompah I want to go home

I’m sure there’s more.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 19 Feb 23 - 09:30 AM

Houston Post (Feb. 16, 1941), p. 1:

FIRST LADY WANTS RACY C.C.C. DITTY ON [sic] MUSICALE

Washington, Feb. 15. – (UP) – Mrs. Roosevelt said Saturday night that she hopes the library of congress [sic] will include in its repertoire at next Monday evening’s White House musicale a disrespectful folk song composed by the Civilian Conservation Corps boys.

President Roosevelt has heard the song which jibes at his pet agency. Two former C.C.C. boys sang it for him at a Labor Day picnic at Hyde Park last year. He thought it was swell, but Crown Princess Martha of Norway was astonished at the audacity of the song.

It is one of those folk tunes like ‘Franky and Johnnie [sic]’ which grow and grow, but here are five verses and the refrain the President heard last year:

I broke into a jeweler’s
And stole a thing or two,
They said ‘You better leave town, boy,
The cops are after you.

Refrain:

Oh, I don’t want no more of the C.C.C.!
See, bud, I wanna go home.

The salary that they pay you,
   They say is mighty fine;
They give you thirty dollars,
   And fine you twenty-nine.

When you go into the rec hall,
   You’d better bring your bunch,
And when you go into the mess hall,
   You’d better bring your lunch.

The pancakes that they feed you,
   They say they’re mighty fine.
I bounced one on a table,
    And killed a friend of mine.

The turkey that they feed you,
    They say it’s of the best.
We get the neck and feathers;
    The captain gets the rest.

The coffee that they feed you,
    They say it’s mighty fine;
Good for cuts and bruises –
    Just like iodine.

C.C.C. officials will attend the musicale which follows dinner at the White Hous. So will officials of the National Youth Administration, the Works Project Administration, the army and navy, and other agencies engaged in training youth. The purpose of the musicale, Mrs. Roosevelt said, is to demonstrate that this country has a real folk music suitable for singing in camps.

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 19 Feb 23 - 09:34 AM

The jewel robbery is a surprising twist.

Two more WW2 texts:

The Miami [Fla.] Daily News (Jan. 31, 1943), p. C-12:

                           

                  World War II Inspires New Song Themes

The chicken that they give us,
They say is mighty fine;
But one jumped off the table
   And did a double time.
I don’t want no more of this Ar-mee,
Yipee [sic] I want to go home.

The biscuits that they give us,
   They say are mighty fine,
But one fell off the table
   And killed a pal of mine.
I don’t want no more, etc.

The details that they give us,
   They say are mighty fine;
The garbage that we pick up,
   They feed us all the time,
I don’t want no more, etc.

The sergeants that they give us,
   They say are mighty fine;
They make us count the cadence
   And give us double time.
I don’t want no more, etc.

The women that they give us,
   They say are mighty fine;
The most are over ninety,
   The rest are under nine.
I don’t want no more, etc.

*************************

The Mitchell [Ind.] Tribune (July 8, 1943), p. 5:

[From] Cpl. Clarence Pruet, 172d Ordnance Dept. Co., Camp Adair, Oregon….:

I like the G.I. coffee, like it mighty fine; Good for cuts and bruises, just like iodine.

I like G.I. biscuits, like them mighty fine; One rolled off the table, and killed a pal of mine.

I like G.I. payday, it is mighty fine; Pay you 50 dollars, and dock you 49.

I like the G.I. haircuts, they are surely fine; Peels you like an onion, makes your bald head shine.

I like the G.I. blankets, they are pals of mine; But they are only five feet long; I am five feet nine.

I like the G.I. orders, they are sweet and kind; If it’s not “inspection arms” it’s “straighten up that………line.”

And, Oh, those G.I. mess kits, from which we all do dine; Spent seven hours rubbing mine, the ………..thing still won’t shine.

There is a G.I. article for which I really pine; That’s a two weeks furlough, to that old home of mine.

*****************************

A letter from Miami Beach, published a week earlier in Time (June 7, 1943), has the first three stzs. (only) exactly as above (except in correct form and correctly punctuated). It adds the refrain,

“Gee, Ma, I want to go, gee, Ma I want to go
Gee, Ma, I want to go home.”

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 19 Feb 23 - 02:19 PM

Beat me to it! Been able to open, preview but not post in the thread for some new reason. But now we're getting somewhere. Is there a C.C.C. song thread?

Your '05 convo with Tannywheeler re the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Songs You Learned in the Service?

Those lyrics do look more like the late 1940s stuff.

More ghost of the Gitz: Spanish Civil War Songs: Who Sings What? (credit, no lyrics.)

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GeoffLawes
Date: 19 Feb 23 - 07:26 PM

Here is a link to 2 posts on MUDCAT Permathread Songs in English about the Spanish Civil War which give information about the song in that conflict   https://mudcat.org/usersearch.cfm?who=GUEST%2CJohn%20Fisher

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 19 Feb 23 - 08:56 PM

Geoff: Those are the Gitz Rice lyrics. The score/count is now at four wars and two songs… I think...

Lighter: Just now noticed our sources are different; zinger of an extra paragraph at the end here:

“...Alan Lomax, of the Folk Music Division of the Library of Congress, is in charge of the program. He entertained at a White House dinner for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain in 1939 with cowboy songs. He played his own accompaniment on the guitar. Trainees from CCC camps in this vicinity will take part in the program.”
[Oakland Tribune, Vol.134, No.47, 16 Feb 1941]

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 19 Feb 23 - 09:17 PM

“39. GEE, BUT I WANT TO GO HOME
...From the very first days of training, however, the most popular of all soldier songs in World War II was “Gee, but I Want to Go Home.” This was an adaptation of a British song of World War I composed by Lt. Gitz Rice:

I want to go home, I want to go home,
The bullets they whistle, the cannon they roar,
I don't want to stay here anymore;
Take me over the sea,
Where the Germans can't get me,
O my, I'm too young to die,
I want to go home.

One must conclude from their songs that American citizen soldiers don't care for wars, but up to now they have won them.”

“Gee, But I Want to Go Home
Words and melody adapted and arranged by John A. and Alan Lomax
Piano arrangement by Charles and Ruth Seeger”

...Coffee, biscuits, clothes, money, girls. Chorus:
I don't want no more of army life,
Gee, but I want to go,
Gee, but I want to go home.
[Folk Song U.S.A., Lomax & Lomax, 1947]

Also as: Best Loved American Folk Songs, 1947

Subject: RE: Origins: Gee But I Wanna Go Home
From: Lighter
Date: 19 Feb 23 - 10:00 PM

That was Tannywheeler's most recent post (2010).

I'd like to see better evidence that the song was sung in Spain, though popularity in the CCC would have made it perfectly plausible.

But for all we know, it was scarcely known in the CCC.


Here is Dolph's WW1 song for comparison. Though the the lyrics are highly topical and specific and tune is different, the later song almost certainly stems from versions of this:

                  “I Don’t Want No More Army”

The of?cers live on top of the hill
We live down in the slop and swill.

CHORUS: I don’t want no more army,
Lordy, how I want to go home!

We had a major and his name was Tack;
He rode a horse and we carried a pack.

The lieutenants, they all work and sweat;
The captain sits around like a vi-o-let.

They showed me the mule that I could ride.
They didn’t show the shovel on the other side.

We’ve got a kitchen on four wheels,
Just a-warming beans for our meals.

I’ve learned a little, more or less.
Now I know why they call it mess.

The meat was rotten, and the spuds were bum;
They mixed it all together and they called it slum.

We loaded up the wagon and then,
We had to take it all off again.

The of?cers, they don’t work a bit;
I don’t see how they get away with it.

We do work for the lieutenant, and then
The captain makes us do it all over again.


Some of it seems to refer to the crew of a mule-drawn "rolling kitchen" used to bring hot meals to troops on the march.