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Sun 18 Apr, 2004 11:32 am
"THE ARMY GOES ROLLING ALONG,"
Intro: 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
Verse: 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 till 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 (TWO! THREE!)
For where e'er we go,
You will always know
That The Army Goes Rolling Along.
Verse: Valley Forge, Custer's ranks,
San Juan Hill and Patton's tanks,
And the Army went rolling along
Minute men, from the start,
Always fighting from the heart,
And the Army keeps rolling along.
(refrain)
Verse: 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)
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(1) Rolling along seems to me that army marches on with a roll of thunder? I didn't get "roll along".
(2)Count the brave
The meaning of the count is like it in "Count these apples"?
(3) Valley Forge?
(4) Minute men, from the start
Minute = ?
Phoenix, this seems to be a case of new words being put to an old song. I believe it's: " And the caissons go rolling along" If memory serves, it was a WWI Army marching song.
"Over here, over there
We will fight them anywhere
And the caissons go rolling along"
count the cadence= 1-2-3-4 for marching
Valley Forge and Minutemen..Ori, do me a favor and crack a book or google.
I worked with you on the Navy and Army song...now I want you to do the Marine Hymn...on your own...OK?
"And as he gives it to her she begins to sing," always makes me laugh.
Same thing with "Minute Men."
(I'm sorry)
I am very surprised at that song, Oristar, because it is obviously based upon another song, in fact, it is that other song with some of the lyrics changed. Panzade has given the clue: as the caissons go rolling along. That was originally the song of the field artillery (as opposed to seige artillery, in the days when that distinction was valid).
In the original, the chorus was:
For it's Hi! Hi! Hee!
In the Field Artillery
Count off your numbers loud and strong (TWO! THREE!)
For where e'er we go,
You will always know
That the caissons go rolling along.
So, as the guns and the caissons (where ammunition was kept in the days of black powder cannons) were wheeled and horse-drawn, they were literally "rolling along."
I'll go see if i can find the original for you. That looks like a made-up job on someone's part, and not a very good job, either.
Here you go:
Over hill, over dale
As we hit the dusty trail,
And the Caissons go rolling along.
In and out, hear them shout,
Counter march and right about,
And the Caissons go rolling along.
Then it's hi! hi! hee!
In the field artillery,
Shout out your numbers loud and strong,
For where'er you go,
You will always know
That the Caissons go rolling along.
In the storm, in the night,
Action left or action right
See those Caissons go rolling along
Limber front, limber rear,
Prepare to mount your cannoneer
And those Caissons go rolling along.
Then it's hi! hi! hee!
In the field artillery,
Shout out your numbers loud and strong,
For where'er you go,
You will always know
That the Caissons go rolling along.
Was it high, was it low,
Where the heck did that one go?
As those Caissons go rolling along
Was it left, was it right,
Now we won't get home tonight
And those Caissons go rolling along.
Then it's hi! hi! hee!
In the field artillery,
Shout out your numbers loud and strong,
For where'er you go,
You will always know
That the Caissons go rolling along.
That the Caissons go rolling along.
That the Caissons go rolling along.
Those are the original lyrcis. Whoever did the one you have there did a poor job in my estimation.
You can read the lyrics and listen to the tune
here
I opened the first link the Phoenix offered and always got my browser down.
And the second link could not be reached from here (China).
Panzade, thanks. I've googled out what Valley Forge was in USHistory site.
Setanta, "the caissons go rolling along" is fairly understandable. And you've explained this perfectly.
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Counter march =counter move?
Ori, I'm ashamed of my rudeness. I'll help you with the Marine Hymn. Setanta's graciousness made me reconsider.
oristarA wrote:Counter march =counter move?
Counter march means to go back in the direction from which one came. So the line:
Counter march, right about--refers to training in which the gun crews practice the difficult move of getting a long, horse-drawn combination of gun and caisson turned around in the road without causing chaos. The lyrics of the song are actually all about the training of gun crews in the field artillery in the 19th century.
Hi panzade,
I didn't feel any rudeness from you, just felt a bit strictness.
Thanks Setanta.