The Army Goes Rolling Along

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The Army Goes Rolling Along
Organizational anthem of the
U.S. Army
Also known as"The Army Song"
LyricsHarold W. Arberg, November 1956
MusicJohn Philip Sousa, 1917
AdoptedNovember 11, 1956; 67 years ago (1956-11-11)
Audio sample
Performed by the U.S. Army Band

"The Army Goes Rolling Along" is the official song of the United States Army[1] and is typically called "The Army Song". It is adapted from an earlier work titled the "U.S. Field Artillery March".

History

The original version of this song, written in 1908 by

Edmund Gruber, was titled "The Caissons Go Rolling Along." Those lyrics differ from the current official version.[2] Gruber's version was transformed into a march by John Philip Sousa in 1917 and renamed the "U.S. Field Artillery March
."

The

Secretary of the Army Frank Pace asked the music industry to submit songs; he received more than 800 entries. "The Army's Always There" by Sam H. Stept won,[4] and an Army band performed it at President Dwight D. Eisenhower
's inaugural parade on January 20, 1953.

Many thought that the

Wilber Marion Brucker dedicated the music on Veterans Day, November 11, 1956.[6] The song is played after most U.S. Army ceremonies, and all soldiers are expected to stand at attention and sing. When more than one service song is played, they are played in the order specified by Department of Defense directive: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard.[7]

Lyrics

The following lyrics are to "The Army Goes Rolling Along."
This is the official version, dating to 1956.
As of May 8, 2013, only the first verse, the chorus, and refrain are sung.[8]

Verse:

March along, sing our song, with the Army of the free
Count the brave, count the true, who have fought to victory
We're the Army and proud of our name
We're the Army and proudly proclaim

First Chorus:

First to fight for the right,
And to build the Nation's might,
And The Army Goes Rolling Along
Proud of all we have done,
Fighting 'til the battle's won,
And the Army Goes Rolling Along.

Refrain:

Then it's Hi! Hi! Hey!
The Army's on its way.
Count off the cadence loud and strong
For where e'er we go,
You will always know
That The Army Goes Rolling Along.

Second Chorus:

Valley Forge, Custer's ranks,
Patton's tanks
,
And the Army went rolling along
Minutemen, from the start,
Always fighting from the heart,
And the Army keeps rolling along.
(Refrain)

Third Chorus:

Men in rags, men who froze,
Still that Army met its foes,
And the Army went rolling along.
Faith in God, then we're right,
And we'll fight with all our might,
As the Army keeps rolling along.
(Refrain)

In popular culture

  • The tune was used in 44 movies or television series from 1934 to 2011.[9]
  • Robert A. Heinlein used the 1908 Caisson Song as the basis for "The Road Song of the Transport Cadets", the official song of the fictional United States Academy of Transport in his 1940 short story "The Roads Must Roll". However, characters in the story refer to the origin as both the "Song of the Caissons" and the "field artillery song."[10]
  • Hasbro used the tune for its G.I. Joe toyline during the 1960s with the words "G.I. Joe...G.I. Joe...fighting man from head to toe...on the land...on the sea...in the air."
  • In the 1960s, the
    Hoover Company
    used this tune for the promotion of their "Hoover Junior" vacuum cleaner with the lyrics "All the fluff, dust and grit. Hoover gets at every bit. For it beats as it sweeps as it cleans".
  • The toy company again used it for their Army Ant toys in the 80s.
  • In 1962, the song was parodied in The Jetsons Season 1, Episode 6, "The Good Little Scouts."[11] It was the marching song of Elroy Jetson's space troop.
  • In The Muppet Show episode Juliet Prowse, when Kermit asks the Muppet Glee Club to sing something, the Glee Club all sing a bunch of different songs in unison, and one frog sings The Army Goes Rolling Along.
  • In 1979, the song was sung by
    Season 6
    Episode 16, Margaret loses her wedding ring, which is inscribed with "Over hill, over dale, our love will never fail," inspired by the original lyrics to "The Caisson Song." Hawkeye and BJ get a tinker to inscribe an identical ring, but the inscription is humorously misspelled as "Over hill, over dale, our love will ever fail."
  • The fight song of North Carolina State University is a sped-up version of the tune.[12] (See NC State Wolfpack.)
  • The Australian A-League Club Adelaide United FC uses the tune for their club song "United Is Rolling Along."
  • A version of the song is in the Girls und Panzer Original Soundtrack, under the title "America Yahoutai March."
  • The
    Barney in Outer Space
     and other Barney episodes and videos.
  • An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer
    . Lehrer discusses the contest to introduce his song "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier", which satirizes the Army of the 1950s from the perspective of a young conscript by humorously suggesting he had submitted it for consideration as the Army song.
  • This song is sung by Goofy, Chip 'n' Dale, Christian Buenaventura, Michelle Montoya, Toby Ganger, and Brandon Hammond in Mickey's Fun Songs: Campout at Walt Disney World.
  • The Kidsongs Kids sing this song in "A Day At Camp". In that same series, the song "The Circus is Coming to Town" is set to the song's tune.
  • In Army Wives season 4, episode 9, Frank and General Holland sing to Sara Elizabeth Burton.

See also

References

  1. ^ Army Regulation 220-90, Army Bands, 14 December 2007, para 2-5f, g
  2. ^ "As the Caissons Go Rolling Along". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved September 18, 2018 – via YouTube.
  3. It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier", in this contest.[citation needed
    ]
  4. ^ Time magazine, January 19, 1953
  5. ^ Dorr, Robert, Westchester Chordsmen Archived 2006-08-14 at the Wayback Machine, December 2004, p. 4
  6. ^ Army Training Circular TC 3-21.5,[permanent dead link] Drill and Ceremonies, 20 January 2012, para. 1-2h
  7. ^ Army song
  8. ^ Source: U.S. Army Bands information and recordings
  9. ^ Internet Movie Database, entry for Gruber
  10. ^ Heinlein, Robert A. "The Roads Must Roll." The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929-1964. Ed. Robert Silverberg. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1998. 53-87.
  11. ^ Big Cartoon Database
  12. ^ North Carolina State University. Archived 2011-12-08 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on February 7, 2012.

Further reading

  • Collins, Ace (2003). Songs Sung, Red, White, and Blue: The Stories Behind America's Best-Loved Patriotic Songs. HarperResource.
    ISBN 0060513047
    .

External links

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