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http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1957774.php
July 17, 2006
Army cadence calls change with the times
By Michael Futch
The Fayetteville Observer
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — In years past, the military cadence caller occasionally spat out bawdy, if not downright vulgar lyrics. The training chants sometimes took aim at women, minorities and gays.
Many others targeted Russian commies, tours of Korea, Vietnamese fighters, diseased prostitutes, My Lai villain Lt. William Calley, even the Ayatollah Khomeni.
“In Vietnam, there were some very, very derogatory cadence calls,” said retired Lt. Col. W.T. Heath Jr. of Fayetteville.
“There were some that every now and then, usually the leaders would not let those spread. They would shut them down quick. There were always some about the war, which was all right. Then they got into the negative aspects of war. There were some negative ones about killing babies and that sort of thing.”
Cpl. Walkerson Bastia, a 21-year-old from Boston, pulls regular duty as a cadence caller in Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. He has been doing it since he joined up three years ago.
“I mix it up a little,” he said following his company’s nearly four-mile run on Wednesday morning on Fort Bragg. “It’s a good way to start the morning.”
The call-and-response chants for running soldiers are still around, but these days, a new sensitivity to women, minorities and gays has softened the language.
Gone, too, are the Jody calls, cadences in which a back-home character named Jody was ruining a soldier’s life.
“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 ...”
“We don’t call them Jody calls. We can’t use them anymore,” said Sgt. 1st Class Keith Callahan. “No more profanity. We can’t talk about women anymore. Back in the day, yes. Not now. It’s more professional now. We still do some of them about killing. Now it’s about Iraq, Afghanistan.”
These little marching songs, sung as soldiers march or double-time in formation, are about as basic to soldiering as complaining about MREs and following direct orders. They are part of an oral tradition that has developed over time, passed on by noncommissioned officers to the next generation of soldiers.
Silly as the cadences may often sound, soldiers say they provide a little motivation as they train.
Alpha Company 2nd Battalion 325 Infantry Regiment “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 ...”
Although marching songs have been around for a long time, modern cadence tradition among drill sergeants and the soldiers under their command can be traced to 1944, when an Army private named Willie Duckworth started chanting the words to “Sound Off” to a formation of exhausted troops from Fort Slocum, N.Y.:
“Sound-off / One-two/ Sound-off/ Three-four/ Count cadence/ One-two-three-four/ One-two — three-four.”
The tradition spread. Characteristically, these jogging jingles still contain that familiar “sound off” refrain.
The songs require a caller, who normally sets the pace and leads the formation. If all goes well, the caller and the soldiers develop a sort of rapport — a smooth-running formation in a sweaty groove.
A caller will usually lead two or three songs before dropping back into formation and alternating with another soldier. “It’s tiring,” Callahan explained. “It wears you out.”
On Fort Bragg, one of the most common cadences is “C-130,” which lauds the glory of the airborne: “C-130 rollin’ down the strip,” the soldiers sing, “Airborne Daddy gonna take a little trip.”
“It’s all about motivation. When the guys are feeling down, feeling weak, it brings up their spirits,” said Callahan, who often calls cadence in that Joe Pesci voice of his for the Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 325th.
Heath, who retired from the service after 30 years in 1987 and now runs his own rental business, was a natural caller.
“I’ve always liked to run my mouth is the best way to put it,” he said.
“The military gave me an opportunity to get out front. Most people wouldn’t want to get out front and lead the troops. I thoroughly enjoyed getting out there and sounding off.”
Typically, cadence duty falls on the sergeants, who are known to prepare by studying cadence manuals and recordings that are sold on post.
Some of the better callers improvise like jazzmen, incorporating their own lines into the passed-down songs. But it’s not for everyone.
“Some can do that. I’m not that talented,” said Sgt. Ryan Juliano, a 22-year-old from New Jersey. “I have trouble talking and running at the same time.”
July 17, 2006
Army cadence calls change with the times
By Michael Futch
The Fayetteville Observer
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — In years past, the military cadence caller occasionally spat out bawdy, if not downright vulgar lyrics. The training chants sometimes took aim at women, minorities and gays.
Many others targeted Russian commies, tours of Korea, Vietnamese fighters, diseased prostitutes, My Lai villain Lt. William Calley, even the Ayatollah Khomeni.
“In Vietnam, there were some very, very derogatory cadence calls,” said retired Lt. Col. W.T. Heath Jr. of Fayetteville.
“There were some that every now and then, usually the leaders would not let those spread. They would shut them down quick. There were always some about the war, which was all right. Then they got into the negative aspects of war. There were some negative ones about killing babies and that sort of thing.”
Cpl. Walkerson Bastia, a 21-year-old from Boston, pulls regular duty as a cadence caller in Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. He has been doing it since he joined up three years ago.
“I mix it up a little,” he said following his company’s nearly four-mile run on Wednesday morning on Fort Bragg. “It’s a good way to start the morning.”
The call-and-response chants for running soldiers are still around, but these days, a new sensitivity to women, minorities and gays has softened the language.
Gone, too, are the Jody calls, cadences in which a back-home character named Jody was ruining a soldier’s life.
“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 ...”
“We don’t call them Jody calls. We can’t use them anymore,” said Sgt. 1st Class Keith Callahan. “No more profanity. We can’t talk about women anymore. Back in the day, yes. Not now. It’s more professional now. We still do some of them about killing. Now it’s about Iraq, Afghanistan.”
These little marching songs, sung as soldiers march or double-time in formation, are about as basic to soldiering as complaining about MREs and following direct orders. They are part of an oral tradition that has developed over time, passed on by noncommissioned officers to the next generation of soldiers.
Silly as the cadences may often sound, soldiers say they provide a little motivation as they train.
Alpha Company 2nd Battalion 325 Infantry Regiment “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 ...”
Although marching songs have been around for a long time, modern cadence tradition among drill sergeants and the soldiers under their command can be traced to 1944, when an Army private named Willie Duckworth started chanting the words to “Sound Off” to a formation of exhausted troops from Fort Slocum, N.Y.:
“Sound-off / One-two/ Sound-off/ Three-four/ Count cadence/ One-two-three-four/ One-two — three-four.”
The tradition spread. Characteristically, these jogging jingles still contain that familiar “sound off” refrain.
The songs require a caller, who normally sets the pace and leads the formation. If all goes well, the caller and the soldiers develop a sort of rapport — a smooth-running formation in a sweaty groove.
A caller will usually lead two or three songs before dropping back into formation and alternating with another soldier. “It’s tiring,” Callahan explained. “It wears you out.”
On Fort Bragg, one of the most common cadences is “C-130,” which lauds the glory of the airborne: “C-130 rollin’ down the strip,” the soldiers sing, “Airborne Daddy gonna take a little trip.”
“It’s all about motivation. When the guys are feeling down, feeling weak, it brings up their spirits,” said Callahan, who often calls cadence in that Joe Pesci voice of his for the Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 325th.
Heath, who retired from the service after 30 years in 1987 and now runs his own rental business, was a natural caller.
“I’ve always liked to run my mouth is the best way to put it,” he said.
“The military gave me an opportunity to get out front. Most people wouldn’t want to get out front and lead the troops. I thoroughly enjoyed getting out there and sounding off.”
Typically, cadence duty falls on the sergeants, who are known to prepare by studying cadence manuals and recordings that are sold on post.
Some of the better callers improvise like jazzmen, incorporating their own lines into the passed-down songs. But it’s not for everyone.
“Some can do that. I’m not that talented,” said Sgt. Ryan Juliano, a 22-year-old from New Jersey. “I have trouble talking and running at the same time.”
