The Air Force Song
by Robert Crawford
Off we go into the wild blue yonder,
Climbing high into the sun;
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder,
At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun! Give 'er the gun now!
Down we dive, spouting our flame from under,
Off with one helluva roar!
We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!
Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force!
Minds of men fashioned a crate of thunder,
Sent it high into the blue;
Hands of men blasted the world asunder;
How they lived God only knew! God only knew then!
Souls of men dreaming of skies to conquer
Gave us wings, ever to soar!
With scouts before And bombers galore. Hey!
Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force!
Bridge:
Here's a toast to the host
Of those who love the vastness of the sky,
To a friend we send a message of his brother men who fly.
We drink to those who gave their all of old,
Then down we roar to score the rainbow's pot of gold.
A toast to the host of men we boast, the U.S. Air Force!
Off we go into the wild sky yonder,
Keep the wings level and true;
If you'd live to be a grey-haired wonder
Keep the nose out of the blue! Out of the blue, boy!
Flying men, guarding the nation's border,
We'll be there, followed by more!
In echelon we carry on. Hey!
Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force!
Notes:
- Hey! Was originally written as "Shout", but common usage has been to shout "Hey!"
- Words in italics (the fourth lines of each stanza) are spoken.
- "Army Air Corps" has been changed to "U.S. Air Force"
History of the song:
Selected from 757
scores submitted to
Liberty magazine in 1938 as part of a selection contest for the
Air Corps song, it was first performed at the
Cleveland Air Races on
September 2, 1939. The front page of the score went to the surface of the
moon with the
Apollo 15 crew, which was the only all-Air Force Apollo crew.