They Say that in the Army (or Gee Ma, I Want to Go Home)
Campfire song / Army Cadence / Air Force Jodie of unknown origin
Thought to be a song sung by Canadian soldiers
during World War II (likely simply because of the Betty Grable
reference, pay scale and the mention of Ontario in the chorus), this song has
since been co-opted by a number of organizations -- you may be
familiar with They Say that in the Air Force, or They Say that
at Girl Guide Camp, for example.
The very nature of this song makes it impossible to provide
definitive lyrics -- singers are encouraged to
make up their own verses, which may or may not propagate
meme-like.
If you have verses to add, please by all means send me a /msg.
They say that in the Army
The food is mighty fine *
A pea rolled off the table
And killed a friend of mine
Oh I don't want no more of Army life
Gee Ma, I want to go
Back to Ontario **
Gee Ma, I want to go home
They say that in the Army
The Jeeps are mighty fine
They go around the corner
And leave the wheels behind
<Chorus>
They say that in the Army
The girls are mighty fine
You ask for Lori Saunders / You ask for Betty Grable
They give you Frankenstein
<Chorus>
They say that in the Army
The pay is mighty fine
They give you ninety dollars
And take back eighty-nine
<Chorus>
They say that in the Army
The tents are waterproof
You wake up in the morning
And you're floating by the roof
<Chorus>
They say that in the Army
The coffee is mighty fine
It's good for cuts and bruises / It looks like sausage gravy
And tastes like iodine
<Chorus>
They say that in the Army
The clothes are mighty fine
Both me and my buddy
Can fit snugly into mine
<Chorus>
They say that in the Army
The food is mighty fine
Last night we we had ten puppies
Today we've only nine
<Chorus>
* Jurph, as well as contributing an alternate coffee verse, points out that 'Who said that?' is a very common callback interjected at this point in every verse.
** Non-Canadian singers may want to replace this line with, 'But they won't let me go'.
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