Bless 'Em All

Last updated

"Bless 'Em All"
Song by George Formby, Jr.
Written1917
Songwriter(s) Fred Godfrey, Robert Kewley

"Bless 'Em All", also known as "The Long and the Short and the Tall" and "Fuck 'Em All", is a war song. The words have been credited to Fred Godfrey in 1917 set to music composed by Robert Kewley, however, early versions of the song may have existed amongst British military personnel in the 1880s in India. It was first recorded by George Formby, Jr. in 1940, and it has been covered by a number of other artists including Gracie Fields and Vera Lynn. It served as a patriotic song during the Second World War.

Contents

History

The origin of the song is not entirely clear. The song is said to have been written by Fred Godfrey set to music by Robert Kewley, although it is likely that the song existed earlier in various forms in all divisions of the British military. These early versions, instead of "bless 'em all", had "rob 'em all", "sod 'em all", or "fuck 'em all" as the recurrent phrase in the lyrics. [1] Godfrey said that he thought up the lyrics for the song while serving with the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) at Dunkirk during the First World War, recalling in a 1941 letter to the Daily Mirror : "I wrote 'Bless 'Em All' while serving in the old RNAS in France in 1916. And, furthermore, it wasn't 'Bless'." However, questions remain if he actually wrote the lyrics as he claimed, furthermore his service record indicates that he only joined RNAS in January 1917. [2] It has been suggested that Godfrey took an older song and changed one crucial word. [3]

Les Cleveland (1984) writes that a version of the song titled "Fuck 'Em All" was a popular protest song by airmen serving on India's North West Frontier during the 1920s, and may have originated from there. [4] However, Chelsea Pensioners who were interviewed by author Lewis Winstock indicated that the song was already current in the last decade of the 19th century. [1] It has been proposed that the song was adapted from a folk song and first became popular among British servicemen in India in the 1880s. [5]

The song later gained popularity among British and Commonwealth troops during the Second World War, and with a change of lyrics became a patriotic tune after being performed by singers such as Gracie Fields and Vera Lynn. [4] It was also recorded by George Formby and Bertha Willmott among others. These songs was based on an arrangement by Jimmy Hughes and Frank Lake. [1] Some sources credited the song to Jimmy Hughes, Frank Lake and Al Stillman. [6] [7]

Lyrics

They say there's a troopship just leavin' Bombay, bound for old Blighty shore,
Heavily laden with time-expired men, bound for the land they adore.
There's many an airman just finishing his time, there's many a twerp signin' on.
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.

Bless 'em all,
Bless 'em all,
The long and the short and the tall,
Bless all the Sergeants and W.O. 1s,
Bless all the corp'rals and their blinkin'/bleedin' sons,
'Cos we're sayin' goodbye to 'em all.
As back to their billets they crawl,
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.

They say if you work hard you'll get better pay.
We've heard all that before.
Clean up your buttons and polish your boots,
Scrub out the barrack room floor.
There's many a rookie has taken it in, hook, line, and sinker an' all.
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.

Bless 'em all,
Bless 'em all,
The long and the short and the tall,
Bless all the sergeants and W.O. 1s,
Bless all the corp'rals and their blinkin'/bleedin' sons,
'Cos we're sayin' goodbye to 'em all.
As back to their billets they crawl,
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.

Now they say that the sergeant's a very nice chap, oh what a tale to tell.
Ask him for leave on a Saturday night; he'll pay your fare home as well.
There's many an airman has blighted his life through writing rude words on the wall.
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.

Bless 'em all,
Bless 'em all,
The long and the short and the tall,
Bless all the sergeants and W.O. 1s,
Bless all the corp'rals and their blinkin'/bleedin' sons,
'Cos we're sayin' goodbye to 'em all.
As back to their billets they crawl,
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.

Nobody knows what a twerp you have been, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.

Irish version

A satirical version of the song became very popular in Ireland during the Second World War (known in The Republic of Ireland as the Emergency). The song was a reaction to the widespread rationing of tea, sugar, tobacco and other goods due to the drastic drop in imports, particularly from Britain. [8] It poked fun at Ireland's Taoiseach Éamon de Valera and Minister Seán MacEntee who were blamed for the shortages and rationing. The line "the long and the short and the tall" had particular sarcastic resonance because De Valera was tall while McEntee was very short.

Films
Television
Literature
Sport

Related Research Articles

"Heart of Oak" is the official march of the Royal Navy. It is also the official march of several Commonwealth navies, including the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy. It was also the official march of the Royal Australian Navy, but has now been replaced by the new march, "Royal Australian Navy".

"God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run up to World War II in 1938. The later version was notably recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Formby</span> English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian

George Formby, was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he sang light, comic songs, usually playing the ukulele or banjolele, and became the UK's highest-paid entertainer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's a Long Way to Tipperary</span> Irish music hall song adopted as a marching song

"It's a Long Way to Tipperary" is an Irish music hall song first performed in 1912 by Jack Judge, and written by Judge and Harry Williams, though authorship of the song has long been disputed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bonnie Blue Flag</span> 1861 American marching song

"The Bonnie Blue Flag", also known as "We Are a Band of Brothers", is an 1861 marching song associated with the Confederate States of America. The words were written by the entertainer Harry McCarthy, with the melody taken from the song "The Irish Jaunting Car". The song's title refers to the unofficial first flag of the Confederacy, the Bonnie Blue Flag. The left flag on the sheet-music is the Bonnie Blue Flag.

Al Stillman(néAlbert Irving Silverman; 26 June 1901 Manhattan, New York – 17 February 1979 Manhattan, New York) was an American lyricist.

"The Girl I Left Behind", also known as "The Girl I Left Behind Me", is an English folk song dating back to the Elizabethan era. It is said to have been played when soldiers left for war or a naval vessel set sail. According to other sources the song originated in 1758 when English Admirals Hawke and Rodney were observing the French fleet. The first printed text of the song appeared in Dublin in 1791. A popular tune with several variations, "The Girl I Left Behind Me", may have been imported into America around 1650 as 'Brighton Camp', of which a copy dating from around 1796 resides in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

"I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)" is a popular song with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Roy Turk. The song was published in 1928. Versions by Nick Lucas, Aileen Stanley and, most successfully, Ruth Etting, all charted in America in 1929.

Soldiers of the Queen is a song written and composed by Leslie Stuart. The song is often sung and published as "Soldiers of the King" depending on the reigning monarch at the time. The tune was originally composed by Stuart as a march celebrating the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal. The lyrics were added at a later date and the title changed. The song was then interpolated in the musical comedy An Artist's Model (1895).

"How Deep Is the Ocean?" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin in 1932. The song was developed from an earlier Berlin song "To My Mammy" which was sung by Al Jolson in his film Mammy (1930). In the earlier song, the lyrics include the questions "How deep is the ocean? / How high is the sky?" and this was the genesis of "How Deep Is the Ocean?".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight</span> Song

"A Hot Time in the Old Town", also titled as "There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight", is an American popular song, copyrighted and perhaps composed in 1896 by Theodore August Metz with lyrics by Joe Hayden. Metz was the band leader of the McIntyre and Heath Minstrels.

"Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag, and Smile, Smile, Smile" is the full name of a World War I marching song, published in 1915 in London. It was written by Welsh songwriter George Henry Powell under the pseudonym of "George Asaf", and set to music by his brother Felix Powell. The song is best remembered for its chorus.

"Botany Bay" is a song that can be traced back to the musical burlesque, Little Jack Sheppard, staged at the Gaiety Theatre, London, England, in 1885 and in Melbourne, Australia, in 1886. The show was written by Henry Pottinger Stephens and William Yardley, with music composed and arranged by Wilhelm Meyer Lutz. The show's programme credits "Botany Bay" as "Old Air arr. Lutz". Sheet music from Allan & Co. in Australia credits Florian Pascal, the pseudonym of Joseph Williams Jr. (1847–1923), a music publisher and composer who published the show's music. Pascal composed other numbers in the score but received no credit for "Botany Bay" in the programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hail to Pitt</span>

"Hail to Pitt" is the most traditional fight song of the University of Pittsburgh, which is commonly referred to as Pitt. The saying "Hail to Pitt!" is also the most traditional and commonly used slogan of the University of Pittsburgh and its athletics teams. The slogan is frequently used in promotional material, printed on merchandise and souvenirs. It was also the title of a 1982 history of Pitt athletics by author Jim O'Brien. The slogan is often used among alumni as a statement of affiliation, including as a closing signature in conversation or correspondence between alumni, and is sometime abbreviated as "HTP" or "H2P", the latter of which is a registered trademark of the university and is frequently used on official university signage and merchandise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!</span> Song

"Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! " was one of the most popular songs of the American Civil War. George F. Root wrote both the words and music and published it in 1864 to give hope to the Union prisoners of war. The song is written from the prisoner's point of view. The chorus tells his fellow prisoners that hope is coming.

Fred Godfrey was the pen name of Llewellyn Williams, a World War I songwriter. He is best known for the songs "Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty" (1916) and "Bless 'Em All" (1917), a 1940s hit recorded by George Formby that can be found on many war films.

The Long and the Short and the Tall may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Your King and Country Want You</span> British WWI patriotic song

Several different recruiting songs with the name "Your King and Country Want/Need You" were popularised in Britain at the beginning of the First World War. Your King and Country Want You with words and music by Paul Rubens was published in London at the start of the war in 1914 by Chappell Music. It was written as a "Woman's Recruiting Song" to be sung with the intention of persuading men to volunteer to fight in the War. Profits from its sale were given to "Queen Mary's Work for Women Fund"; the song raised over half a million pounds for the fund.

Fuck 'Em All may refer to:

<i>Bing Crosbys Treasury – The Songs I Love</i> 1966 studio album by Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby's Treasury – The Songs I Love is an LP set recorded in 1965 and issued by a mail-order firm, The Longines Symphonette Society, an educational service of the Longines-Wittnauer Watch Company.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Palmer, Roy (1990). What a Lovely War: British Soldiers' Songs from the Boer War to the Present Day. M. Joseph. p. 142. ISBN   9780718133573.
  2. "Bless 'Em All page". Bless ’Em All: The Songs of Fred Godfrey. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  3. Stanley, Bob (2022). Let's Do It: The Birth of Pop. Faber & Faber. ISBN   9780571320264.
  4. 1 2 Cleveland, Les (1984). "Soldiers' Songs: The Folklore of the Powerless". Buffalo State University. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  5. Irwin, Colin (2006). Sing When You're Winning. Andre Deutsch. p. 138. ISBN   978-0233001845.
  6. 1 2 Chain Lightning at the American Film Institute Catalog
  7. 1 2 Twelve O'Clock High at the American Film Institute Catalog
  8. O'Sullivan, Kevin (ndg) "De Valera, black flour and the Emergency or, tings I lernt over de Christmas" Archived 2017-03-15 at the Wayback Machine Pue's Occurrences
  9. Lyrics in Fehrenbach, T. R. (1963) This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History, 1998 reprint, ISBN   1-57488-161-2
  10. Irwin, Colin (2006). Sing When You're Winning. Andre Deutsch. pp. 137–139`. ISBN   978-0233001845.