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US Military marching cadences.


Sabrejet
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Dunno how much of this is fact or semi-fact, but, its interesting:

 

http://army-cadence.com/History-of-Cadences.php

 

"While US Army does not officially recognize Cadence Calls or Jody’s, they are well engrained in the fabric of all military services and even police services and fire departments.

 

The two primary types of cadence calls are the marching cadences at 120 beats per minute, and running cadences which move at 10 beats per minute. While one is often substuted for the other, this Army-Cadence.com breaks it’s military cadences by service component and speed, running vs. marching.

 

The first use of a beat based marching tool seams to of been started during the Revolutionary War. According to Sandee Johnson, soldiers who had difficulty marching were ordered to attach a stack of hay to one foot and a piece of straw to the other. Therefore when marching the drill instructor would call out “Hay-foot, straw-foot, Hay-foot” and so on. This hay-foot, straw-foot technique persisted until the end of the civil war.

 

The first recorded history of a cadence call was documented in the spring of 1944 by Colonel Bernard Lentz. Colonel Lentz was the fort’s commanding officer at the time and published a well referenced account of the events.

 

'…as a company … was returning from a long tedious march through swamps and rough country, a chant broke the stillness of the night. Upon investigation, it was found that a Negro soldier by the name of Willie Duckworth, on detached service with the Provisional Training Center, was chanting to build up the spirits of his comrades.

 

It was not long before the infectious rhythm was spreading throughout the ranks. Footweary soldiers started to pick up their step in cadence with the growing chorus of hearty male voices. Instead of a down trodden, fatigued company, here marched 200 soldiers with heads up, a spring to their step, and smiles on their faces. This transformation occurred with the beginning of the Duckworth Chant.'

 

Upon returning to Fort Slocum, Pvt. Duckworth, with the aid of Provisional Training Center instructors, composed a series of verses and choruses to be used with the marching cadence. After that eventful evening the Duckworth Chant was made a part of the drill at Fort Slocum as it proved to be not only a tremendous morale factor while marching, but also coordinated the movements of close order drill with troop precision

 

This “Duckworth chant” as it first became known, did not just stop at Fort Slocum. Col Lentz saw the great utility in keeping moral and raising soldiers spirits that he ordered these Duckworth chants recorded and sent throughout the military force. "

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rufus_firefly

Mr. Nixon drop the bomb.

I don't wanna go to Nam.

If you send me off to Nam,

I'll go AWOL back to mom.

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  • 2 years later...

Hey there Soldier what do ya do?

I wear the cord of Blue!

11 Bravo cant you see?

That I am in the INFANTRY!

 

(Chorus)

Hail O Hail O Infantry

Queen of Battle, Follow Me!

For nothing is this world is free

That why we got the Infantry

 

Up in the morning, out of the rack

Greeted at dawn with an early attack

1SG rushes me off to chow

But I don't eat it anyhow

 

(Chorus)

 

From the big bird in the sky

All will jump and some die

Off to battle we will go

To live or die hell I don't know

 

(Chorus)

 

The mortars and artillery

Screaming bursts surround me

Jagged shrapnel on the fly

Kills my buddy makes me cry

 

(Chorus)

 

Early at night its drizzling rain

I am hit and feel no pain

But in my heart I have no fear

The Ranger God is always near

 

(Chorus)

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  • 1 year later...
Cobra 6 Actual

Back Story: As a Drill Sergeant at Ft. Knox, Kentucky in 1967-1968 I, and the other Drill Sergeants, would check our troops before they began the Infiltration Course. The course consisted of one basic training platoon at a time low crawling across hard packed ground, while machine guns fired overhead. Although the troops often feared this course, the reality was that it was quite safe: barbed wire was strung in such a way that they could not stand up, the machine guns had their barrels in metal cages so that the amount of elevation and traverse was limited, the 'explosions' were done with pneumatic devices, etc. Anyway, in particular, before the exercise began we looked for hidden "protective padding" in their butt packs that they plnned to surreptitiously place under uniforms on their knees and elbows since word always spread about how hard the ground was and how it tore up your knees and elbows. I know for a fact how hard the ground was, because several times I had to low crawl out to 'motivate' scared privates that had frozen up.

 

The Jody Chant: Turns out that the best improvised "protective padding" was women's Kotex, which could be purchased in the base exchanges. Naturally, when we Drill Sergeants found soldiers actually using Kotex as padding we had some fun making them shout:

 

"First Platoon's [or whichever numbered platoon was the offender] a bunch of WACs

Carries Kotex in their packs!"

 

There are other verses which, unfortunately, are unrepeatable here.

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Ah seeing this one brought a lump to my throat, when I rediscovered it on YT in 2013 and posted it in another forum topic, at that point I haven't seen this in like 34 years. Watched this vid in like May 79 when I first tried to join up, 17, parents said no, Sept 79 18, then yes. but seeing it now all those years later it's that opening the running and signing, and with Boots, that thrilled me.

 

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I just remember our night classes getting in trouble at tech school . . . . . . . .

 

 

I've always referred to them as Jody Calls. I was introduced to this when I attended Air Force ROTC Summer camp. My F Flight had a few guys who could make up Jody Calls on the spot. We were marching thru the main base when an Airman cook passed by us wearing his all-white uniform and one cadet started a Call ending in the line about "a walking glass of milk". In another call, we made fun of one cadet in E Flight, marching in front of us, that spun tales about his hot date the night before----or lack thereof.

 

Our DI rotated cadets through the duty of Flight Commander and I was the second one assigned that duty. I was called to his office because an Officer over another cadet flight turned us in for our Jody Calls.

 

Here is one---the best as I can remember it---but it is probably missing 2 or 4 lines. Remember this was during the last 2 years of the Viet Nam War.

 

Flying low about the trees,

Dropping candy as we please

Watching VC gather round

Dropping napalm all around

La la la la la la laaa

Dow Chemical don't give a dam

 

something like that.

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I like it when talented NCOs are able to take the lyrics of songs and turn them into cadences. Two of the most fun ones I've heard are "White Lightning" and "The Battle of New Orleans"

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From BMT (AF) 1968. Don't remember it all:

 

If I die in Viet-nam

Send my body home to Mom

Cross my arms across my chest

Tell my gal I did my best

Sound off.....

 

If in Korea I do die

Tell my sweetheart not to cry...

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More of a drinking song than a cadence:

 

Some mothers have sons in the Army

 

Some mothers have sons overseas

 

But your son's a craven coward

 

That's why he's in ROTC

 

Chorus

 

R O T C, sounds like some b*** s*** to me, to me, oh

R O T C, sounds like some b*** s*** to me, to me!

 

They made him a second lieutenant

 

They gave him his bar of gold

 

They made him a forward observer

 

He lived to be 3 seconds old!

 

Chorus

 

They made him a second lieutenant

 

They gave him his bar of brass

 

They sent him out to combat

 

And then he got shot up the a**!

 

Chorus

 

If I had the wings of an eagle

 

and the a** of a buffalo

 

I fly to the highest mountain

 

and sh** on cadre below!

 

 

Chorus (repeated with gusto for a big finish)

 

There are probably a dozen more verses, but this is all I can remember.

For some reason this does not turn up in Google searches.

It is a lot funnier after your third beer.

 

I think this may have been a hold over from the Vietnam period, when

some forward thinking individuals thought that joining ROTC was a good

way to avoid the draft. Unfortunately that proved to be shortsighted for some

in the end.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am sure I have a book of these calls somewhere. I know in some schools such as Advanced Individual Training we had a someone come up with some new ones specifically for us. Some can be very simple, but I have done some where the cadence caller received rather long responses to a particular line.I have come up with a few special calls for schools myself.

 

 

Bill Carr

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  • 4 years later...

Who can forget...

Momma momma cant you see, what the armys done to me. Took away my faded jeans... now im wearing army greens.

 

They say that in the army the Woman are mighty fine... (Who said that) They talk like phylis diller and look like frankenstein.

Oh lord I want to go but they wont let me go home ......... Hey!

 

They say that in the army the pay is mighty fine. (Who said that) They give you a hundred dollars and take back 99...

Oh lord I want to go but they wont let me go hooome homeeehomeeeeeeee Hey !

 

They say that in the army, the chow is mighty fine (Who said dat) a chicken jumped off the table and killed a freind of mine.

etc etc etc etc.

 

Then theres the two old ladies lynig in bed. One turns to the other and says. I wanna be an airborne ranger...

I wanna live a life of danger...

 

Then theres C130 rolling down the strip ... airborne rangers on a one way trip.

 

If I die on the old drop zone. Box me up and ship me home. If I die on the russian front... bury me in a russian C___.

 

Then there was one sung to the tune of doo dah..

Shot him in the head.... now the F__Kers Dead. Son come home in a body bag ohh doo dahh day.

 

The there was... Iran.... Huh Iran.... Huh. Late at night when your sleepin ayahtolla comes a creeping all around

 

That was a varient of a song they used to sing about vietnam. execept late at night charlie would be creepin all around...

 

How about Tiny Bubbles... in my beer... Makes me happy.... etc etc etc

 

Or the whole yellow ribbon songs.

 

Or beind the door her daddy kept a shotgun...;. He kept it in the springtime in the merry month of may. And if you asked him why the hell he kept it... ? He kept it for that soldier who was far far away... Far away.... Far away..... He kept it for that soldier who was far far away.

 

Then there was one which was about not killing baby seals because you want a meal. Kill em because you want to make the little bastards squeel.

 

Theres so many!!!

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I remember one about a yellow bird; seems it lost it's yellow head. :)

 

A yellow bird with a yellow bill was perched upon my window sill ... I lured him in with a piece of bread...and as I remember it the little sport got his little yellow head crushed in the end !!

lol

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A yellow bird with a yellow bill was perched upon my window sill ... I lured him in with a piece of bread...and as I remember it the little sport got his little yellow head crushed in the end !!

lol

A little bird with yellow bill

 

Came tapping at my window sill

 

I coaxed him in with bit of bread

 

And then I smashed his bleeping head

 

That came back after 51 years

 

And

 

C130 coming down the strip

 

Were gonna go on an airborne trip

 

Jump up hook up shuffle to the door

 

Jump right out and count to four

 

And if my chute dont open round

 

Ill be the first trooper on the ground

 

(Unsure if complete)

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  • 2 years later...
Salvage Sailor

USN 1970's marching cadence, 80 man company formations

 

Mama mama can't cha see, what the Navy's done to me

 

Shaved my head and cut my beard

 

All because I volunteered

 

 

Mama mama can't cha see, what the Navy's done to me

 

Took my joint and drank my beer

 

All because I volunteered

 

Sound Off...

 

(Can't post the other stanzas in public)

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Many had Jody in them and how he stole your girl/ wife. All our DI’s were combat Veterans of Vietnam, all very good and not mean. We had 2 weeks of N.G. DIs that thought they were bad. After basic a guy in B company and I found we were both going to APG for AIT, we thought cool until we got there. Off base housing was all dumps. Little did we know in less than a year we would be in Vietnam.

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