Beetle Bailey Sunday page color proof, October 5, 1975.
A military cadence is a call-and response chant sung by soldiers while marching or running. The rhythm of these chants keeps the soldiers moving in step as a unit and serves to promote teamwork and camaraderie. Typically, one soldier initiates a line and the others either complete it or repeat it. A drummer usually sets the beat.
Here are the words to one popular military cadence.
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They Say That In The Army Cadence
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They say that in the Army the coffee’s mighty fine
It looks like muddy water and tastes like turpentine
Chorus:
Oh Lord, I wanna go
But they won’t let me go
Oh Lord, I wanna go hoo-hoo-hoooome EH!
They say that in the Army the chow is mighty fine
A chicken jumped off the table and started marking time
Chorus:
Oh Lord, I wanna go
But they won’t let me go
Oh Lord, I wanna go hoo-hoo-hoooome EH!
They say that in the Army the biscuits are mighty fine
One rolled off the table and killed a friend of mine
Chorus:
Oh Lord, I wanna go
But they won’t let me go
Oh Lord, I wanna go hoo-hoo-hoooome EH!
They say that in the Army the training’s might fine
Last night there were ten of us, now there’s only nine
Chorus:
Oh Lord, I wanna go
But they won’t let me go
Oh Lord, I wanna go hoo-hoo-hoooome EH!
They say that in the Army the pay is mighty fine
They give you a hundred dollars and take back ninety-nine
Chorus:
Oh Lord, I wanna go
But they won’t let me go
Oh Lord, I wanna go hoo-hoo-hoooome EH
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Click on this link to hear the audio version of this chant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FTVC7jMozI
The Sunday page above shows a cadence march at Camp Swampy with Lt. Flap as the leader. As General Halftrack observes, the men are having too much fun.
Stop back next week to see the next installment from 1975 in our Timeline series.
– Brian Walker