Lyr Add: Beneath a Bridge in Sicily (WWII)

Subject: Lyr Add: BENEATH A BRIDGE IN SICILY (WW2)
From: Art Thieme
Date: 08 Apr 99 - 09:43 AM

This is a World War 2 parody of a much older hobo song---as printed in __G.I. Songs__ 1944---by Ed Palmer --presented as a tribute to all who are in harms way at the "request" of their governments. Also note the "drug of choice" for these WW2 guys & gals: alcohol.
Art Thieme

BENEATH A BRIDGE IN SICILY

Beneath a bridge in Sicily one cold and wintry day,
Beside a busted fighter plane a dying pilot lay,
His throat was cut by the bracing wire, the tank had hit his head,
And he listened to the dying words his young observer said:

1st chorus)
I'm going to a better place where the motors always run,
Where eggnogs grow on eggplants and the pilots wear a bun,
They have no interceptors, no Junkers 34
And little frosted juleps are served at every store.

The pilot breathed these last few words before he passed away,
I'll tell you how it happened, mate, my flippers didn't stay,
The motor wouldn't hit at all, the struts were far too few,
When a bullet ripped the gas tank and the flames came oozing through.

2nd chorus)
Oh, we're going to a better land where they play jazz every night,
Where cocktails grow on bushes and everyone is tight,
They've torn up all the calendars, they've busted all the clocks,
And Scotch & Rye & Bourbon keep running down the rocks.

The observer said to the pilot as heavenward they flew,
When we see St. Peter I tell ya what we'll do,
We'll get ourselves some brand new wings and back to Earth we'll fly,
To haunt the god-damned Jerries/generals until the day they die.

repeat first chorus

Subject: Lyr Add: THE DYING AIRMAN
From: AndyG
Date: 08 Apr 99 - 10:02 AM

Gosh, this brought back memories of a song I learned from my dad.(RAF-WWII)

The Dying Airman

A poor aviator lay dying,
At the end of a long summers day,
His 'plane was piled up on his wishbone,
And with these dying words he did say.

Take the crankshaft out of my belly,
Take the cylinder out of my brain,
From the small of my back take the cam ring,
And assemble the engine again.

So here's to the dead already,
Here;'s to the next man to fly,
So stand by your glasses ready,
Here's to the next man to die.

cf HERE'S TO THE LAST TO DIE

I also know there was a UN (RAAF?) version from the Korean war concluding with the lines:

We'll fly these worn out Mustangs
Against the MiG 15

But alas I remember no more :(

AndyG

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Beneath a Bridge in Sicily (WWII)
From: Lighter
Date: 27 Mar 23 - 08:18 PM

I dunno what the "Junkers 34" is doing in that song. The Junkers W 34 was a nondescript, single-engine German passenger plane introduced in 1926. In WW2 they were used for training. Unlike, say, the "Me-109," they were hardly a threat.

Otherwise, and except for "Sicily" and "interceptors," the song sounds like it's from WW1. A very similar song from that war was "Beside a Belgian 'Staminet."

"Bracing wire" is typical of biplanes, and "eggnogs" and "frosted juleps" were popular before Prohibition. To "grow [not "wear"] a bun" meant to develop the first stages of intoxication (don't now why, but it did).

As for the Junkers 34, conceivably the original reference was to the Airco/De Haviland DH-4. It was a bomber widely used by the British and Americans and nicknamed the "Flaming Coffin" for readily deducible reasons. It carried a pilot and an observer.

One could presume that the pilot and observer had been flying an ill-fated DH-4 and didn't want to see one in heaven.

The planes continued to fly until 1932.