Written by Jenifer Chrisman on September 18, 2015.
The Army Song
(original)
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.
Then it’s Hi! Hi! Hey!
The Army’s on its way.
Count off the cadence loud and strong (TWO! THREE!)
For where e’er we go,
You will always know
That the Army goes rolling along.
Inspired during a difficult march across the Zambales Mountains in the Philippines, then Lieutenant Edmund L. “Snitz” Gruber [later Brigadier General] started thinking about the need for a marching song after hearing, “Come on! Keep them rolling!” by a section chief calling to his horse-drawn field artillery drivers. Leader of a small detachment, Gruber, an artillery officer with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, was related to Franz, composer of “Silent Night.”
About a year later, in March of 1908, Gruber, along with five others, got together and decided to write the song. Lieutenant Robert Danford, along with Lieutenant William Bryden, helped complete the lyrics. Danford noted, “A guitar was produced and tuned and – in what seemed to us a few moments – as if suddenly inspired, Snitz fingered the melody of the now-famous song.”
Danford wrote, “A few evenings later at the post reception for the new unit and adieu to the old, ‘The Caisson Song’ was given its first public rendition. Its popularity was instantaneous, and almost in no time all six of the regiments then composing the U.S. Field Artillery adopted it.” Gruber was already teaching the song to officers of the 1st Battalion as they arrived at Fort Stotsenburg.
Senior artillery leaders, during the final day of World War I in 1917, were seeking an official marching song. “The Caisson Song” was given to John Philip Sousa by an officer who believed the song dated back to the Civil War. Sousa was asked to fix it up; he incorporated it into a new piece, which he retitled, “The U.S. Field Artillery March.”
Selling about 750,000 copies, the song was a blockbuster. Gruber eventually heard about it and asked the unwitting Sousa, “How about some money, since I wrote the song?” Sousa, in turn, made sure Gruber received his royalties.
The Army conducted a nationwide contest in 1948 to come up with an official song, but the five winners gained no popularity. They tried again in 1952 when the Secretary of the Army made an appeal to the music industry. Although over 800 compositions were received, they also fell flat. Finally, H.W. Arberg, a Soldier music adviser in the Adjutant General’s office was asked to give it a try. Adapting “The Caisson Song,” the now official U.S. Army song was again renamed “The Army Goes Rolling Along.”
Today, the “The Army Goes Rolling Along” represents the Army’s past, present and future. It is played at the conclusion of every U.S. Army ceremony and all Soldiers are not only expected to stand, they are expected to sing.
“The Army Goes Rolling Along”
(Current)
Intro:
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:
Verse:
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 till 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; (TWO! THREE!)
For where’er we go,
You will always know
That the Army goes rolling along.
Verse:
Valley Forge, Custer’s ranks,
San Juan Hill and Patton’s tanks,
And the Army went rolling along.
Minute men, from the start,
Always fighting from the heart,
And the Army keeps rolling along.
(Refrain)
Verse:
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)
Sources:
Sources: Caisson: (historical) a chest or wagon for holding or conveying ammunition.
