The old sergeants platoon was behind the wire today and standing down for a well earned rest. As the sergeant was walking across the compound, headed toward his office, he heard the sound of a marching cadence. Ever the sergeant he walked toward the sound until he found the goon squad, sitting in the shade of a building, signing Jodies.
Momma, momma, can't you see? Look what the Army's done to me. ... They took away my faded jeans; Now I'm wearing Army green. They took away my gin and rum; Now I'm up before the sun...
Then:
Whoa-whoa, whoa, whoa. ... I used to have the high school queen; Now I've got my M-16. I used to drive a Chevrolet; Now I'm running every day...
“Hey Pappy,” the squad leader called in greeting. “Come and help us make up a few new cadences.”
The old sergeant sat down and listened for a while. Some of the Jodies they sang were old and brought back memories for pappy. Some good and some not so good.
Drip-drop, drip-pe-ty-drip-drop; Sit-tin' on a hill-top, raindrops on my head; My baby left me, she left me for dead...
Finally they all settled down to a little comradery talk.
“I suppose you ladies know where the very first cadence, or “Jodie” came from right?” Pappy inquired. At the blank look on their faces he continued:
“Soldiers have been signing while they marched probably as long as there have been armies. During the Revolutionary War, American marching troops took special pleasure in singing Yankee Doodle – the song the British had used to taunt them -- back to the defeated Redcoats.”
“Through the years, other military marching songs arose. During the Civil War, The Battle Hymn of the Republic and When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again sent blood pumping through Yankee and Rebel veins.”
“In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Over There and The Caisson Song were popular among marching troops. The official Army song, The Army Goes Rolling Along, even urges soldiers to count off the cadence loud and strong.
“But the first ever recorded cadence or Jodie was over 60 years ago. AND BEFORE YOU SAY ANYTHING LADIES, NO I WAS NOT ALIVE THEN Anyway, as the story goes, a formation of exhausted troops was returning to its barracks at Fort Slocum, N.Y., in May 1944 when a rhythmic chant arose from the columns.”
“Pvt. Willie Duck-worth, a black soldier on detached service with Fort Slocum's Provisional Training Center, sang out the first-ever rendition of Sound-off, Sound-off; 1-2; Sound-off; 3-4; Count cadence; 1-2-3-4; 1-2 -- 3-4. Other soldiers in the formation joined in and their dragging feet picked up momentum.”
“At a time when black soldiers' achievements were just being acknowledged by many in the Army, the Duckworth Chant, as Duckworth's cadence came to be called, got noticed. Col. Bernard Lentz, Fort Slocum's commander, recognized it as a way to keep his soldiers in step while boosting unit pride and camaraderie.” “Hey, you mean Jodies were invented by an African America?” The goon squad leader asked.
“Yep.” Said Pappy. And nobody seems to know for sure when the Duckworth Chant became known as the jody call. In fact, nobody's even sure who Jody is.”
“In the many cadence calls that disparage Jody's name, Jody is the guy back home, trying to court a soldier's wife or girlfriend or sister. And as more women joined the ranks, Jody also came to represent the woman out to seduce a husband or boyfriend.”
“In either case, Jody is a civilian enjoying the comforts of home while the soldier sweats it out in the field or overseas. And soldiers love to console themselves by singing about Jody.
“Remember this one?” Ain't no use in going home; Jody's got your girl and gone. Ain't no use in feeling blue; Jody's got your sister, too. Ain't no use in lookin' back; Jody's got your Cadillac...
“Whatever the case Jodies have been used by the military every since to build unit cohesion, increase morale and give a lift when the troops need it the most.”
“So, you ladies have learned something new today, right?”
“Right pappy.” One of the goon squad said. “We learned that Jodies were invented by the army to make us work harder.”
Pappy just shook his head and as he walked off he could still here them:
One mile, no sweat. Two miles, better yet. Three miles, think about it. Four miles, thought about it. Five miles, feeling good like I should...
WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR JODIES!
Steve Newton All the Old Sergeant stories are fictional http://steven.newton1.home.att.net/ steven.newton1@att.net Data obtained from Donna Miles DoD Book one now for sale
Interesting story -- except it's spelled singing!
I thought these was about a bunch of deaf people at first.
I wanna be an Airborne Ranger
Live a life of blood and danger
Just two things that I can't stand
A bald-headed woman and a straight-leg man
BTTT
He's Bill Clinton.
Sgt's face was turning green
Cause someone pissed in his canteen
Sgt's face was turning black
Cuz someone sh@t in his knapsak
to the left to the left
to the left right left
I will never forget that from the 82nd when I was a kid and we were stationed there. Much to my mother's chagrin.
All the Way!
From Combat Magazine
JODY CALL : rhythmic chants or rhyming songs intended to coordinate marching tempo, sometimes shortened to JODY; probably derived from labor songs that paced the work and maintained the processing order. These songs, along with country and blues, share the common miseries of ordinary people, featuring the archetypal JODY as villain or rake, who typically wins the soldier's pay and possessions, seduces the serviceman's wife and dog! See CADENCE, HEP, CHANTEY, HOISE. [nb: some revisionists, by ignoring the extensive history of martial music and work songs going back to ancient China and early Rome, are "crediting" segregated Negro troops with the 'invention' of CADENCE calls for the improvement of morale during training in WWII, specifically an impromptu "Sound Off" CADENCE call initiated by PVT Willie Duckworth while marching in the Provisional Training Center of Fort Slocum, New York, in May 1944, and later identified as the "Duckworth Chant" in folklore. It's another insidious myth and pernicious lie perpetrated upon the gullible by self-anointed elitists! The similarity of JODY to every carpetbagger and scalawag argues demonstrably for a 19th Century development, as does the word 'cadence' in early Army songs ("count off the cadence loud and strong"), but even more is the persistence of sea chanteys by sailors laboring at common tasks.]
......in May 1944 .....
So by December '44. the 101st Airborne in Bastonge had taken up the practice so they could proudly march out, shot up with heads held high, as William Bendix led them.
That's the way the movie portrayed the scene.
Aint no use in lookin' down
Aint no discharge on the ground
Aint no use in goin' home
Jodie's got your girl and gone
Two ole hoeze laying in bed
One rolled over to the other and said
Airborne..Ranger which is best?
Airborne Airborne yes yes yes
If I die in a combat zone
Box me up and ship me home
If I die on the Russian front...
Bury me with a Russian..
never mind
Feeling mean and looking good
Ought to be in Hollywood
Yellow Bird Ping!!!!!
Little yellow birdie with a little yellow bill,
Landed on my windowsill;
Lured him in with a crust of bread,
And then I smashed his little yellow head!
Up in the morning with the rising sun,
Gonna run all day 'til the runnin's done;
Gonna run so far and run so fast,
Gonna show 'em how long a Marine can last!
(variation on the last one)
Up in the morning with the bloodshot eyes,
Looks like another tequila sunrise;
Stand up, fall down, hit the floor,
Grab the bottle and drink some more!
Cruisin' along in my '54 Ford,
Got my plastic Jesus sittin' on my dashboard;
He don't slip and He don't slide,
'cause his ass is magnetized!
I think He's King and I think He's cool,
He walked across my swimming pool;
But that plastic Jesus has got to go,
'Cause His magnet's messin' up my ra-di-o!
A couple of my favorites:
Up in the morning, out of the rack
Awakened at dawn by a mortar attack
In the early morning rain
In the early morning rain
See the soldier on the hill
You know he's not afraid to kill
In the early morning rain
In the early morning rain
See the soldier in the sky
You know he's not afraid to die
In the early morning rain
In the early morning rain
See the woman dressed in black
She knows he's never coming back
In the early morning rain
In the early morning rain
Another variation of the C-130 jody:
C130 rollin' down the strip
Hit a rock and began to flip
64 troopers trapped inside
All wish they were Mechanized
And another:
C130 rollin' down the strip
Hit a rock and began to flip
64 troopers trapped inside
64 troopers Kentucky fried
And yet another:
C-130 rollin' down the strip
Airborne Rangers on a 1 way trip
Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door
Knees buckled and I hit the floor
Jumpmaster picked me up with ease
Threw my ass out in the breeze
Well, I slipped to the left and I slipped to the right
I slipped on down into a firefight
One or two I remember from the Hawaiian Infantry Training Center in 1951 goes like this:
"Little birdie in the sky
drop some white stuff in my eye"
"sound off...1, 2...sound off...3, 4...cadence count
1,2,3,4...1,2...3,4.
"I don't know but I been told
eskimo p***y is mighty cold"
"sound off...1, 2...sound off...3, 4...cadence count
1,2,3,4...1,2...3,4.
"Jody was there when you left...You're right
Jody was there when you left...You're right
"sound off...1, 2...sound off...3, 4...cadence count
1,2,3,4...1,2...3,4.
She was alot more fun than what you guys are talking about.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Jesse james before he died
Named 3 things that he wanted to ride
Bicycle tricycle automobile
A bowlegged lady on a Ferris Wheel
I like it I like it I like it
I love it I love it I love it
I don't know but I've been told
Navy wings are made of gold.
I don't know but heard it said
Air force wings are made of lead.
Calvary, Calvary, she wore it for her lover who was in the Calvary.
---
Since I was in Foxtrot Flight, and we wore Red ball caps, we had a slight variation.
Around her head she wore a red ribbon
She wore it in the spring time and in the month of May
And if you asked her why the heck she wore it,
she wore it for her lover who was in F-Troop
F-Troop, F-Troop, she wore it for her lover who was in F-Troop.
Around the block the she pushed a baby carriage...
She pushed it in the spring time and in the month of May
And if you asked her why the heck she pushed it,
she pushed it for her lover who was in F-Troop
Behind the door her Father kept a shotgun.
He kept it in the spring time and in the month of May
And if you asked him why the heck he kept it,
he kept it for her lover who was in F-Troop
F Troop was a popular comedy TV show from 1965-67, but I think it may have been still in re-runs in '71.
Let's just say that while our FTO (Field Training Officer) didn't mind our version too much, it drove the other FTO's slightly batty, and they all outranked ours. (Ours was the only Captain, the rest were Majors, the exec or admin officer (some of each actually) was a mustang Captain and the CO was full bird. All of them, plus the enlisted and civilian support staff were drawn from various AF ROTC detachments around the country. There were two encampments at Vandy that year. The first was 4 weeks, for those that had done two years of ROTC on campus already, while our 6 week camp was for those who were in the two year program. In that extra two weeks, we put in as many hours in the classroom and on the drill pad as they did in two years (but they only went to class one hour a week and spent an additional hour on drill and ceremonies.)