Blood on the Risers
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"Blood on the Risers" is an American paratrooper song from World War II.[1]
Content
Sung to the tune of the "
The song is a cautionary tale on the dangers of improper preparation of a parachute jump.[4] The protagonist does everything right but forgets to hook up his static line which would automatically deploy his main parachute. Upon discovering this error during the jump, he deploys his reserve chute in bad falling position with disastrous results, as he becomes entangled in the parachute’s canopy and risers and falls uncontrollably to the ground below. As the reserve chute is stored in a belly bag on the World War II-era rig, deploying it in a bad falling position could easily lead to an accident, not unlike the one described in the song. "Risers" are the four straps that connect the suspension lines of the parachute canopy to the parachute harness.
Modern usage
It is associated with all current American airborne units, including the 82nd Airborne Division, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the 101st Airborne Division and 11th Airborne Division, and the 120th CTS (United States) as well as British airborne units. It is known as "Mancha Roja" (Spanish for "Red Stain") in airborne units from multiple Latin American countries. In Spain it is called "Sangre en las cuerdas" ("Blood upon the risers" in English).
In popular culture
This song has been featured in the television miniseries
WWII veteran Vincent Speranza was recorded singing the chant in 2019, the video went viral on YouTube with more than one million views as of December 2023.[5] Vincent later recorded his own version of the chant and has 1.9 million views.[6]
References
- JSTOR 1496045.
- ^ "Blood on the Risers". 2006-03-04. Archived from the original on 2006-03-04. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
- ^ Melchior, Robert J. (1991). 307th Engineer Battalion Prop Blast -- An Airborne Tradition (PDF). pp. 98–100.
- ^ "The James T. Callow Computerized Folklore Archive :: UDM Libraries / Instructional Design Studio". libraries.udmercy.edu. Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ WWII Veteran Vince Speranza "Blood on Risers" 2019 Netherlands, retrieved 2023-09-13
- ^ Vincent J. Speranza's Full Original Version-BLOOD UPON THE RISERS & BAND of BROTHERS-Music From WWII, retrieved 2023-09-13
External links
- Blood on the Risers
- Men of Easy Company's official lyrics, archived from the original
- ASIN B00C5ZLWWI
- Blood On The Risers 82nd Airborne Division