Lyr Add: We're in the Army Now (1917)

Subject: Lyr Add: WE'RE IN THE ARMY NOW (1917)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 12 Nov 06 - 11:33 PM

From Indiana University Sheet Music Collections:

WE'RE IN THE ARMY NOW
"Sung by Every Soldier in the United States"
Words, Tell Taylor & Ole Olsen. Music, Isham Jones. 1917.

1. From the looks of things, we've got to join the army.
Uncle Sammy means to do just what he says.
It won't be long before we're in the trenches,
A-fighting for the dear old USA,
So when anything goes wrong,
We'll sing this little song:

CHORUS:
We're in the army now.
We're not behind a plow.
We'll never get rich a-diggin' a ditch. *
We're in the army now.
We're in the army now.
Suppose you wonder how.
But don't you fear. You'll soon be here. *
We're in the army now.

2. Now you see the boys as they go marching by you,
In their uniforms and colors, they look grand.
To the tune of "Yankee Doodle he's a dandy,"
They're marching for the dear old Yankee land.
So when anything goes wrong,
We'll sing this little song: CHORUS

Extra Choruses:

[*Substitute these lines for the ones marked with asterisks above:]

2. We're glad we're here; that's why we cheer.
We'll fight for right with all our might.

3. The time has come to make things hum.
So come along and join our song.

4. A loyal heart can do his part
The world will know and we can show

5. The U-boat war has gone too far.
We'll do what's right. Of course we'll fight.

6. We'll eat pork and beans with appetites keen.
The grub is fair. Why should we care?

7. We'll do our share no matter where.
Our USA needs us today.

8. The time has come to make things hum.
We're going in to fight like sin.

9. We could sing all night. That wouldn't be right.
We're losin' our pipes for the Stars and Stripes.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: We're in the Army Now (1917)
From: Ferrara
Date: 13 Nov 06 - 12:33 AM

Yeah. My dad sang it in WWII. Only they sang, "You'll never get rich, you S- of a B- You're in the army now."

In civilian life Dad was an insurance agent. During basic training the guys were told to sign up for Army-provided insurance. Dad read the terms of the policy and complained that it was no bargain, in fact the terms were much less favorable than civilian policies. The sergeant implied that they "had to" get the insurance if they knew what was good for them. Dad didn't sign. Later one of the guys said, "Oh, you better sign up for it. You'll get in trouble." Dad's answer: "I'm already in the Army. What worse trouble can I get into?"

Thanks for posting the full song here.

Rita F

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: We're in the Army Now (1917)
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Nov 06 - 07:55 AM

I've checked the sheet music and find that the tune of the chorus is quite different from the familiar one.

The first five lines of the chorus are the only part of the song that's well known (as "You're in the Army Now.") Both the "digging a ditch" and "son of a bitch" versions were sung by Americans in WWI.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: We're in the Army Now (1917)
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Nov 06 - 08:54 AM

Christ, didn't know Status Quo were that old!!!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: We're in the Army Now (1917)
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Oct 18 - 07:25 PM

"We're in the Army Now, words by T. Taylor and Ole Olsen, music by Isham Jones," was deposited for copyright in the Library of Congress on Aug. 27, 1917.

This is the song cited above. As I mentioned above,
the tune of the refrain is not exactly the familiar tune that accompanies the familiar words.

It looks as though Taylor, Olsen, and Jones wrote a new, longer song around a few words and a tune that were already in circulation.

According to "The Seventh Regiment Gazette" (August, 1916 ), p. 336:

"With phonograph and mouth organ in M. Company street and the whole 12th Regiment band in the street behind us, all trying to play 'You're in the Army Now' in various keys, we are convinced that Sherman spoke only of the heat."

The Taylor, Olsen, & Jones song begins, "From the looks of things, we've got to join the Army." But nobody had to join in *1916* before the U.S. was in the war.

So where did the universally known tune come from? Unlike the usual words, it doesn't sound very "folk-like."

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: We're in the Army Now (1917)
From: Lighter
Date: 05 Jan 19 - 12:50 PM

Daily Free Press (Kinston, N. C.) (Apr. 27, 1914):

"Soon the trumpets will play, 'You're in the army now, you're not behind the
plow.'"

Kane [Pa.] Republican (Aug. 17, 1916) [pretty clearly bowdlerized]:

"You're in the Army now,
You're not behind the plow;
You may keep your health,
But you'll never get wealth,
You're in the Army now."

Atlanta Constitution ((Oct. 24, 1916):

"You're in the Army now,
You're not behind the plow;
You're always broke,
You're ring's in soak --
You're in the Army now."

Washington Times (Nov. 20, 1916):

"After sounding pay call, the buglers played a little ditty known as, 'You're in the army now, you're not behind the plow, you base-born boob the probabilities of your becoming wealthy are most remote, you're in the army now.' This is not a verbatim copy of the words, but it as near a verbatim copy as is printable."

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: We're in the Army Now (1917)
From: GUEST,Bob Schwarer
Date: 06 Jan 19 - 02:13 AM

I was drafted in 1951. We had a choice of having the free insurance or paying for a policy that would continue after service. For some reason I chose the "pay" version. I still have the policy. It has about $10,000 surrender value. Best of all my payments are about $80 a year but I get a $400 dividend. Back a few years the dividend was higher, but I'm not complaining.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: We're in the Army Now (1917)
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 06 Jan 19 - 07:03 PM

A decade ago ....

Looking through "unclaimed assets" a dear friend's name came up.

Through WWII his mother paid into a life-insurance at 25cents/week.

He cashed it out at approx 1750.00 usd

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

The "rule of 72" compounds throughout the decades.

(

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: We're in the Army Now (1917)
From: Lighter
Date: 16 Aug 19 - 08:17 PM

Topeka State Journal (June 23, 1916), p. 6:

"You're in the army now,
You're in the army now,
You son of a gun, you're done with fun,
You're in the army now.

"It was an old camp song, well known to the old 'vets' of ... Ft. Riley."

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: We're in the Army Now (1917)
From: Lighter
Date: 16 Aug 19 - 08:25 PM

Maybe the earliest with "plow," "ditch" and "rich."

Evening Public Ledger (Phila.) (June 28, 1916, p. 9:

You're in the army now,
You're not behind the plow,
    You're in the ditch
    You'll never get rich,
'Cause you're in the army now.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: We're in the Army Now (1917)
From: GUEST,paperback
Date: 17 Aug 19 - 01:48 AM

I was given a bunch of old letters and recipes from the 1870s and included were contracts with the state of Ohio for ditch digging. The contract include: from where to where, how deep, how wide and what grade. From what I gathered if some joe needed some cash you could always dig ditches for the state. I have checked online for anything about this but came up flat. I had to destroy the letters due to mildew. It funny though cause I had wondered the meaning behind that line for a while. Another one that baffled me as a kid was 'kit-bag', I think I finally figured that one out through Mudcat.

Heres a drainage map of Ohio Watersheds.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: We're in the Army Now (1917)
From: Hrothgar
Date: 19 Aug 19 - 06:48 AM

During the Depression, when the unemployed were provided with "sustenance" labour - basically labour for rations and a small allowance - it became:

We're on the susso now,
We can't afford a cow,
We live in a tent,
We pay no rent,
We're on the susso now.