Glider & Paratroop Songs Dad Mentioned


The Glider Riders
(Sung to the tune of  "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze.")

One day I answered the popular call,
And I got in the Army to be on the ball,
An infantry outfit, foot-soldiers and all,
Is where they put me to train.
They gave me my basic at Camp Claiborne,
There I was happy and never forlorn,
Till they split us up and made us Airborne,
But the pay was exactly the same.

Chorus

Oh! Once I was happy, but now I'm Airborne,
Riding in gliders all tattered and torn,
The pilots are daring, all caution they scorn,
And the pay is exactly the same.

We glide through the air in our flying caboose,
It's actions are graceful just like a fat goose,
We hike on the pavement till our joints have come loose,
And the pay is exactly the same.

Once I was Infantry, but now I'm a dope,
Riding in gliders, attached to a rope,
Safety in landing is only a hope
And the pay is exactly the same.

We glide through the air in a tactical state,
Jumping is useless, it always too late,
No chute for the soldier who rides in a crate,
And the pay is exactly the same.

We fight in fatigues, no fancy jump-suits,
No bright leather jackets, no polished jump-boots,
We crash-land by glider without parachutes
And the pay is exactly the same.

We glide through the air with "Jennie" the jeep,
Held on our laps unable to leap,
If she breaks loose, our widows will weep,
And the pay is exactly the same.

We work in Headquarters we sit on a chair,
We figure our tactics and take to the air,
We fly over "Jerry" and drop in his hair,
And the pay is exactly the same.

We hike and we sweat, and we load and we lash,
We tie it down well, just in case of a crash,
We take off and land, and climb out in a flash,
And the pay is exactly the same.

We glide through the air with the greatest of ease,
We do a good job, and we try hard to please,
The Finance Department we pester and tease.
But the pay is exactly the same.

FINIS. (But Oh!  Boy!!!)


"BLOOD ON THE RISERS"

(Tune of "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah")

He was just a rookie trooper,
And he surely shook from fright
As he checked all his equipment,
And made sure his pack was tight
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,
You ain't gonna jump no more.

"Is everyone happy?", cried the sergeant, looking up,
Our Hero feebly answered "Yes," and then they stood him up,
He leaped right out into the blast, his static line unhooked,
HE AIN'T GONNA JUMP NO MORE!

CHORUS:
GORY, GORY, WHAT A HELLUVA WAY TO DIE
GORY, GORY, WHAT A HELLUVA WAY TO DIE
GORY, GORY, WHAT A HELLUVA WAY TO DIE
HE AIN'T GONNA JUMP NO MORE!

He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock,
He felt the wind, he felt the clouds, he felt the awful drop,
He jerked his cord, the silk spilled out and wrapped around his legs.
HE AIN'T GONNA JUMP NO MORE!
(CHORUS)

The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome
The lines were snarled and tied in knots, around his skinny bones,
The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground,
HE AIN'T GONNA JUMP NO MORE!
(CHORUS)

The days he's lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind,
He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind,
He thought about the medics and wondered what they'd find,
HE AIN'T GONNA JUMP NO MORE!
(CHORUS)

The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild,
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, they rolled thier sleeves and smiled
For it had been a week or more since last a 'Chute had failed.
HE AIN'T GONNA JUMP NO MORE!
(CHORUS)

He hit the ground, the sound was "SPLAT", his blood went spurting high
His comrades then were heard to say, "A Helluva way to die."
He lay there rolling 'round in the welter of his gore.
HE AIN'T GONNA JUMP NO MORE!
(CHORUS)

There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the 'Chute
Intestines were a'dangling from his Paratrooper's boots,
They picked him, still in his 'Chute and poured him from his boots.
HE AIN'T GONNA JUMP NO MORE!
(CHORUS)