The Army Goes Rolling Along

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The Army Goes Rolling Along

Organizational anthem of the U.S. Army
Also known as"The Army Song"
LyricsHarold W. Arberg, November 1956
Music Edmund L. Gruber, 1908
AdoptedNovember 11, 1956;68 years ago (1956-11-11)
Audio sample
Performed by the U.S. Army Band

"The Army Goes Rolling Along" is the official song of the United States Army [1] and is typically called "The Army Song". It is adapted from an earlier work from 1908 entitled "The Caissons Go Rolling Along", which was in turn incorporated into John Philip Sousa's "U.S. Field Artillery March" in 1917.

Contents

History

The original version of this song, written in 1908 by Edmund Gruber, was titled "The Caissons Go Rolling Along." Those lyrics differ from the current official version. [2] Gruber's version was transformed into a march by John Philip Sousa in 1917 and renamed the "U.S. Field Artillery March."

In 1944 the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous Federal Court ruling that Gruber, though he had permitted the song to be included in a 1921 complilation of West Point songs, had never formally copyrighted the work. [3]

The United States Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard had adopted official songs, and the Army was eager to find one of its own. They conducted a contest in 1948 to find an official song, but no entry received much popular support. [4] In 1952, Secretary of the Army Frank Pace asked the music industry to submit songs; he received more than 800 entries. "The Army's Always There" by Sam H. Stept won, [5] and an Army band performed it at President Dwight D. Eisenhower's inaugural parade on January 20, 1953.

Many thought that the melody was too similar to "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts". The Army decided to use much of the melody from Sousa's "U.S. Field Artillery March" with new lyrics. Harold W. Arberg, a music advisor to the Adjutant General, submitted lyrics that the Army adopted. [6] Secretary of the Army Wilber Marion Brucker dedicated the music on Veterans Day, November 11, 1956. [7] The song is played after most U.S. Army ceremonies, and all soldiers are expected to stand at attention and sing. When more than one service song is played, they are played in the order specified by Department of Defense directive: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. [8]

Lyrics

The following lyrics are to "The Army Goes Rolling Along."
This is the official version, dating to 1956.
As of May 8, 2013, only the first verse, the chorus, and refrain are sung (Most likely due to the second and third choruses being about a war). [9]

Verse:

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

First Chorus:

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 'til 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
For where e'er we go,
You will always know
That the Army goes rolling along.

Second Chorus:

Valley Forge, Custer's ranks,
San Juan Hill and Patton's tanks,
And the Army went rolling along
Minutemen, from the start,
Always fighting from the heart,
And the Army keeps rolling along.
(Refrain)

Third Chorus:

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)

See also

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References

  1. Army Regulation 220-90, Army Bands, 14 December 2007, para 2-5f, g
  2. "As the Caissons Go Rolling Along". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved September 18, 2018 via YouTube.
  3. "'Caissons' Ruled in Public Domain by U.S. Appeals Court." Billboard, 8 January 1944, 15.
  4. Tom Lehrer claims to have submitted his parody, "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier", in this contest.[ citation needed ]
  5. Time magazine, January 19, 1953
  6. Dorr, Robert, Westchester Chordsmen Archived 2006-08-14 at the Wayback Machine , December 2004, p. 4
  7. Army Training Circular TC 3-21.5,[ permanent dead link ]Drill and Ceremonies, 20 January 2012, para. 1-2h
  8. Army song
  9. Source: U.S. Army Bands information and recordings
  10. Internet Movie Database, entry for Gruber
  11. Heinlein, Robert A. "The Roads Must Roll." The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929-1964. Ed. Robert Silverberg. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1998. 53-87.
  12. Big Cartoon Database
  13. North Carolina State University. Archived 2011-12-08 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on February 7, 2012.

Further reading