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In the armed services, a military cadence or cadence call is a sort of work song: a chant that is sung by military personnel while running or marching. In the United States, these cadences are sometimes called jody calls or jodies, after Jody, a recurring character who figures in some traditional cadences.
Requiring no instruments to play, they are counterparts in oral military folklore of the military march. As a sort of work song, military cadences take their rhythms from the work being done (compare sea shanty.) Many cadences have a call and response structure; one soldier initiates a line, and the remaining soldiers complete it.
History
The word "cadence" was applied to these chants because of an earlier meaning, in which it meant the number of steps a marcher or runner took per minute. The cadence was set by a drummer or sergeant, and discipline was extremely important as keeping the cadence directly affected the travel speed of infantry. There were other purposes: the close-order drill was a particular cadence count for the complex sequence of loading and firing a musket. In the Revolutionary War, Baron von Steuben notably imported European battlefield techniques which persist, greatly modified, to this day. Cadences also instill teamwork and camaraderie.
Oral tradition credits the origin of the modern cadence tradition within the United States Army to Private Willie Duckworth; according to this story, in May of 1944, while returning to base with his exhausted unit, he began singing or chanting the first cadence, "Sound Off:"
- Sound-off; 1 - 2; Sound-off; 3 - 4; Count cadence; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4; 1 - 2 — 3 - 4.
This cadence, known as the "Duckworth Chant," exists with some variations in many different branches of the U.S. military. Duckworth's simple chant soon was elaborated by folk tradition among drill sergeants and the soldiers under their command, and the tradition of creating elaborate marching chants or songs spread to other branches of the military.
As soon as 1952, the U.S. Army adopted The Army Goes Rolling Along as its service theme song, with the lyric "count off the cadence loud and strong" a reference to Duckworth's cadence. Its melody and lyrics derive from the traditional When the Caissons Go Rolling Along.
A common United States Marine Corps cadence goes:
- Way back when at the dawn of time.
- In the heart of Death Valley where the sun don't shine.
- He was a lean mean green fighting machine.
- He proudly bore the title of US Marine.
Another well-loved and well-used US Navy SEALS cadence goes:
- Up from a sub 60 feet below,
- When we hit the surface, we'll be ready to go.
- Side-stroke, back-stroke, swim to the shore,
- When we hit the beach, we're ready for war.
- Grease gun, K-bar by my side,
- These are the tools that make men die.
Another well-loved and well-used US Marines cadence goes:
- I wish all the ladies were pies on a shelf
- and I was a baker I'd eat em all myself.
- I wish all the ladies were bricks in a pile
- and I was a mason I'd lay em all with style.
- I wish all the ladies were bells in a tower
- and I was a bell boy I'd bang em every hour.
- I wish all the ladies were holes in a road
- and I was a dump truck I'd fill em with my load.
With the Company Repeating after the Lead "I wish all the Ladies", "Were (Item) in/on a (Place)", "And I was a (Occupation)", "I'd (Action)". There is also a Chorus That Goes Between Every Verse, that simply goes
- Barooba, Barooba
- Barooba, Barooba
Police
Police personnel who train in para-military fashion also have acquired the tradition for its recruits in the police academy. However, the "lyrics" are changed for law enforcement, for example:
- A six gun a tin star a horse named Blue.
- In 1890 a cop held these true.
- In 1930 the Thompson gun.
- It made police work a lot more fun.
- A big block Dodge Polara Pursuit.
- In 1960 it came out of the chute.
- We got night vision on our MP5.
- These are the tools that keep us alive.
- From a horse named Blue to a big HumVee
- We'll still PT in the Academy!
- (Last line yelled)
"Jody calls"
In the United States, these songs get the name jody call or jody (also jodie) from a recurring character, a civilian named "Jody" whose luxurious lifestyle is contrasted with military deprivations in a number of traditional calls. Jody is the person who stays at home, drives the soldier's car, and gets the soldier's sweetheart while the soldier is in recruit training or in country. (Serendipitously, the name works just as well for female soldiers.)
Common themes in jodies include:
- homesickness
- quotidian complaints about military life
- boasts (of one's own unit) and insults (of one's competitor, which may be another unit, another service branch, or the enemy)
- humorous and topical references.
One example used in the army:
- My honey heard me comin on my left right on left
- I saw Jody runnin on his left right on left
- I chased after Jody and I ran him down
- Poor ole boy doesn't feel good now
- M.P.s came a runnin on their left right on left
- The medics came a runnin on their left right on left
- He felt a little better with a few I.V.s
- Son I told you not to mess with them ELEVEN Bs (the designation for infantry in the Army)
One from the Corps:
- Jody, Jody six feet four
- Jody never had his ass kicked before.
- I'm gonna take a three-day pass
- And really slap a beating on Jody's ass!
A cadence common in the navy:
- They say that in the Navy, the coffee's mighty fine
- It looks like muddy water and tastes like turpentine
- (Refrain)
- Oh lord, I wanna go
- But they won't let me go.
- Ho-oo-oo-oo-me.
- They say that in the Navy, the pay is mighty fine
- They give you a hundred dollars, and take back ninety-nine
- Refrain
- They say that in the Navy, the chow is mighty fine
- A biscuit rolled off the table, and killed a friend of mine
- Refrain
Numeour variations exist for these verses and others.
A more traditional navy cadence:
- The Navy colors
- The colors are red
- To show the world
- The blood we've shed
- The Navy colors
- The colors are blue
- To show the world
- That we are true
- The Navy colors
- The colors are white
- To show the world
- That we will fight
- The Navy colors
- The colors are gold
- To show the world
- That we are bold
Another from the Corps, easily adapted to other branches:
- If I die in a combat zone
- box me up and ship me home
- put me in a set of dress blues
- comb my hair and shine my shoes
- pin my medals upon my chest
- tell my mama I done my best
- ma, mama don't you cry
- Marine Corps motto is do or die
Politically Incorrect
Obscene, scatological, politically incorrect and offensively violent jody calls exist, and were typical, especially during and before the Vietnam War; their official use in formal training is now not required by the U.S. military and with an emphasis on "clean" versions of traditional jodies. The flexibility of jodies is nearly unlimited, and old jodies have always been retired or rewritten as times and wars change.
An example of one such call is the first stanza of Yellow Bird:
- A yellow bird with a yellow bill
- Was perched upon my window sill
- I lured him in with a piece of bread
- And then I smashed his little head
One from the Navy:
- I wanna be a Navy pilot
- I wanna fly an F-14
- I wanna fly with the cockpit open
- I wanna hear those commies scream
An excerpt from the popular "When I Go to Heaven", also known as "How'd Ya Earn Your Living" or "When I Get to Heaven"
- When I go to bars
- The girls they will say
- How did you earn your living
- How did you earn your pay
- And my reply was with a cold kind of nod
- I earn my living killing commies for my God
- When I go home
- The hippies they will say
- How did you earn your living
- How did you earn your pay
- And I replied as I pulled out my nine
- Get out of my way before I take yo' life
Another, more modern example of a politically incorrect, yet motivational cadence popular through the U.S. Navy:
- Running through the desert with my M-16
- I'm a mean seabea from the green machine
- Osama bin Laden, where you at
- I'm going to stick my bayonett in your a**
- I'm gonna twist it turn it and watch you cry,
- I'm gonna twist it turn it until you die
Friendly Competition Between Different Departments of U.S. Military
Ever since the creation of the different departments of the United States military, there has been a historic competition albeit friendly, good spirited banter. The Marine Corps and the Army often exchange playful comments, typically through their cadences. Since the two divisions often perform similar tasks on the battlefield, this would likely lead to the source of the light-hearted rivalry. The Navy (specifically the pilots) and the Air Force share a similar contention with each other. Here's an example:
- I don't know what's been said
- Air Force wings are made of lead
- I don't know what I've been told
- Navy wings are made of gold
From the Navy:
- He-ey Ar-rmy
- What are you doing?
- Get in your tanks and follow me
- I'm in the US Navy
- He-ey Air Force
- What are you doing?
- Get in your jets and follow me
- I'm in the US Navy
- He-ey Marine Corps
- What are you doing?
- Pick up your rifles and follow me
- I'm in the US Navy
Another from the Navy
- Everywhere we go-o
- People wanna know-o
- Who we a-are
- So we tell them
- We're not the Army
- The back-packing Army
- We're not the Airforce
- Always on the golf course
- We're not the Marines
- They don't even hygiene
- We're not the Coast Guard
- They don't even work hard
- We are the Navy
- World's finest Navy
- Blue and gold Navy
Each of the department's specialist groups have "grudges" against one another. For example, U.S. Navy Seals are seen as rivals to the U.S. Army Special Forces (known to public and media as Green Berets). One of the Seals cadences:
- I don't wanna be no Green Beret
- They only PT once a day
- I don't wanna be no Airborne Ranger
- I wanna live a life of danger
- I don't wanna be no bag recon
- I wanna stay 'til the job is done
- I wanna be a Seal Team member
- I wanna swim the deep blue sea
- I wanna live a life of danger
- Pick up your slip-ins and run with me
External links
- more background on the Duckworth cadence
- Link to mp3 and a full text of the Jody Cadence
- Special Operations.com Cadence Database
"Military cadence"