"Chesty Puller Said Before He Died" (United States Marine Corp Cadence)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases an example of the United States Marine Corp cadence "Chesty Puller Said Before He Died".

Information about Chesty Puller is also included in this post.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/05/chesty-puller-was-good-marine-marine.html for a pancocojams post that features an example of the Marine Corp cadence "Chesty Puller Was A Good Marine".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

Thanks to the military corps men and women who honorably serve this country. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and those who are who are featured in this YouTube sound file.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not sure who was the first person to compose this cadence. I'm also not sure when this cadence was first chanted. By featuring this cadence on this blog, I don't mean to imply that it definitely was composed by African Americans.

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INFORMATION ABOUT CHESTY PULLER
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesty_Puller
"Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller (June 26, 1898 – October 11, 1971) was a retired United States Marine Corps general officer. He is one of the most decorated members of the Marine Corps and is the only Marine to be awarded five Navy Crosses. He fought guerrillas in Haiti and Nicaragua, and participated in some of the bloodiest battles of World War II and the Korean War. Puller retired from the Marine Corps in 1955 and spent the rest of his life living in Virginia…
Puller remains a well-known figure in U.S. Marine Corps folklore, with both true and exaggerated tales of his experiences being constantly recounted among U.S. Marines...

A common incantation in U.S. Marine Corps boot camp is to end one's day with the declaration, "Good night, Chesty Puller, wherever you are!"[16] Another common encouragement is "Chesty Puller never quit!"

In U.S. Marine Corps recruit training and OCS cadences, Marines chant "It was good for Chesty Puller/And it's good enough for me" as well as "Tell Chesty Puller I did my best."—Chesty is symbolic of the esprit de corps of the Marines. Also, the recruits sing "Chesty Puller was a good Marine and a good Marine was he."
-snip-
I've read that Lieutenant General Puller was given the nickname "Chesty" because of his barrel chest and his upright posture.

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SHOWCASE SOUND FILE & LYRICS

Marine Corps Cadence Chesty Puller Said Before He Died (With Lyrics)

.

TheCrazySweed Uploaded on Apr 17, 2009

A Marine Corps Cadence

Chesty Puller said before he died (Chesty Puller said before he died)
There was 5 things that he wanted to ride. (There was 5 things that he wanted to ride)
Tricycle, bicycle, automobile (Tricycle, bicycle, automobile)
A bow legged pony on a ferris wheel. ( A bow legged pony on a ferris wheel.)
I said tricycle bicycle (Tricycle, Bicycle)
Automobile. (Automobile)
A bow legged pony (A bow legged pony)
On a ferris wheel. (On a ferris wheel)

Born in a shelter half at Camp Lejeune (Born in a shelter half at Camp Lejeune)
Raised on C-rats and plastic spoons (Raised on C-rats and plastic spoons)
Cussing and a-fussing and a-fightin' all day (Cussing and a-fussing and a-fightin' all day)
Cause we know no other way (Cause we know no other way)

Sayin lo right-a lay-a (lo right-a lay-a)
Your left right a lay-o (Your left right a lay-o)
Lo right lay-o (Lo right lay-o)
Left right left (Left right left)
-snip-
These lyrics were reformatted for this post.
"C-rats" = C-rations
-snip-
This is a clean version of this cadence. Some other versions aren't as clean as this one.

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Mamma Told Johnny Not to Go Downtown (USMC Cadence with lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases the United States Marine Corp cadence "Mama Told Johnny Not To Go Downtown".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

Thanks to the military corps men and women who honorably serve this country. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and those who are who are featured in this YouTube sound file.

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COMMENTS AND LYRICS
From http://songsyoushouldknowbutprobablydont.blogspot.com/2010/10/mamma-told-johnny-not-to-go-down-town.html Malibu, October 30, 2010
..."Navy OCS [Officer Candidate School) is not only run by Marine Corps Drill Instructors, but the best ones they have.

..."When we'd run cadence, feet hitting the ground every 3/4 of a second with precision screaming about killing someone halfway around the world...you really felt like you could take on the world; and win...

Some of them are funny, others are terribly motivating but there is one in particular that is quite beautiful, and in this version one can actually hear the emotion of the Drill Instructor's voice while he and the men chant is moving down the road. In its entirety: (The first verse is interwoven after every verse)

Lo Right, Lo Right, Leeeeefta
Lo Right, Lo Right, Leeeeefta
Lo Righty, Lo Righty, Lo Righty Lefta

Mamma told Johnny not to go downtown
The Marine Corps recruiter was hanging around;

But Johnny went downtown anyway
To hear what the recruiter had to say

The recruiter asked Johnny what he wanted to be
Johnny said I wanna join the infantry.

So Johnny caught a plane out to Vietnam,
To fight some people called the Viet Cong.

Killed a hundred men with his rifle and blade,
Only god knows how many lives he saved.

Johnny was bad and he was brave,
Johnny jumped on a hand grenade.

Saved the lives of the men he led,
But now poor Johnny he was dead.

Before he died this is what he said,
To tell his momma when he was dead

Momma, momma, don't u cry,
The Marine Corps motto is Semper Fi.

Singin' Lo Right, Lo Right, Leeeeefta
Lo Right, Lo Right, Leeeeefta
Lo Righty, Lo Righty, Lo Righty Lefta


It is beautiful, touching and it almost makes me cry every time I listen to it. I think about Johnny's mom crying over his grave when she is handed a folded flag. About the Honor Guard firing three times in precision. About how that took place countless times throughout the years."...

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: USMC RECON CADENCE- MAMA TOLD JOHNNY NOT TO GO DOWNTOWN



bgft, Uploaded on Dec 5, 2008

MARINE RECON CADENCE
-snip-
The refrain is "Lo Righty, Lo Righty, Lo Righty Layo".

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"Everywhere We Go" (Marine Corp cadence videos, lyrics, & comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases United States Marine Corps examples of the running cadence "Everywhere We Go".

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/11/non-military-examples-of-everywhere-we.html for a post of non-military examples of "Everywhere We Go".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

WARNING: The examples of military cadences in this post are "clean" ("family friendly"). However, many other examples of military cadences & many comments about military cadences that are found in the website links given below (particularly in the Wikipedia page on cadences and in many YouTube viewer comment threads), as well as in many other websites/blogs about military cadences often contain profanity, explicit sexual references, excessive violence, and other content which isn't suitable for children.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/information-about-examples-of-duckworth.html to find general information about United States military cadences

Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/11/13-weeks-of-misery-usmc-cadence-with.html to read my comments about African American cultural elements in many military cadences.

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COMMENT ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF MILITARY CADENCES
This comment is from a viewer comment thread for a sound file of the military cadence "Ain't no use in looking down":
cliffitir, 2012
"The point of a cadence is to keep the pace and to keep your mind occupied while on long forced marches."

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TEXT EXAMPLE OF "EVERYWHERE I GO" (United States Marine Corps
version with notes)
(Double Time Cadence)

Everywhere we go-oh, Everywhere we go-oh.
People wanna know-oh, People wanna know-oh.
Who we are, Who we are.
So we tell them, So we tell them.
24, 24.
24, 24.
Motivated, Motivated.
Dedicated, Dedicated.
Dedicated, Dedicated.
Motivated, Motivated.

A-lo righta lay-eft, A-lo righta lay-eft.
A-lo righta layy-eft, Lo righta layy-eft.
Here we go, Here we go.
All the way, All the way.
Here we go, Here we go.
Make it hurt, Make it hurt.
Make it hurt, Make it hurt.
Yeah, Yeah.
Yeah, Yeah.

Drill instructor can’t you see, Drill instructor can’t you see.
A-Come on out and a-motivate me, A-Come on out and motivate me.
Take it on the left foot, Take it on the left foot.
Mighty Mighty Left foot, Mighty Mighty Left foot.
Take it, Take it.
I Got it, I Got it.
Lo righta lay-eft, Lo righta lay-eft.
A-Lefty righta lay-eft, A-Lefty righta lay-eft.
A-Lo right lay-eft, Lo right lay-eft.
Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah.
Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah.
Here We Go, Here We Go.
Here We Go, Here We Go.

Guide-on Guide-on in the sky, Guide-on Guide-on in the sky.
Show the world whos a-runnin’ on by, Show the world whos runnin’ on by.
A-1024 Now, 1024 Now.
Best on the Island, Best on the Island.
A-Best in the company, Best in the company.
A-Best in the Island,Best in the Island.

-------------------------------------------
Standard Notations:
Words in italics are the unit response to the DI's call.
The notation "A-" or "a-" denotes the chopped DI sound similar to "uh" making it more of a run-on to the following word, thus the reason for the hyphen.

From SRT Sniper, Marine http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?10271-Cadence-time!!!/page7, 07-15-06, 02:19 PM#91
-snip-
"Best on the island" refers to Parris Island, "the site of Marine Corps recruit training since Nov. 1, 1915." [Parris Island Wikipedia page]

"A-Lo right lay-eft" means "left right left" [All cadences start with the left foot.]

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FEATURED VIDEOS
(These examples are posted in chronological order based on their posting date with the oldest dated examples presented first.

Note: There are many other examples of this military cadence from the USMC and from other branches of the United States military. The structure & tune of this cadence are relatively fixed, and some of the lines to this cadence have become standard. However a version of this cadence isn't considered wrong if it contains different words, as long as that version conforms with the pattern & theme of the cadence.

Example #1: MARINE CORPS CADENCE- EVERY WHERE WE GO

.

bgft, Uploaded on Oct 31, 2008
-snip-
Transcription*
[The squad repeats each line after the caller chants it.]

We’re motivated
We’re dedicated
Aha
Yah ha
Everywhere we go,
People wanna know,
Who we are,
Where we come from
We come from an island
a Motivated island.
We come from an island
a Motivated island.
They call that island
Paris island
They call that island
Parris island
It ain’t like the army
At Fort Jackson.
It ain’t like the navy
Down in Florida
It ain’t no fly boy
Over in Texas
Woah oh Woah oh
Woah oh oh oh oh oh
Woah oh Woah oh
Woah oh oh oh oh oh
Parris island
There ain’t no other
And on that island
There is sand
But it’s gonna make
Make ah man.
Woah oh woah oh
Woah oh oh oh oh oh
Woah oh woah oh
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh
Ah ha
Here we go
Motivated
Motivated
Shoo sha
Ah ha
Harder than ah nail
Oh yeah
Here we go
Motivated
Dedicated
To the Corps
Your Corps
Your Corps
Your Corps
-snip-
*Transcription by Azizi Powell. Additions & corrections are welcome.

Click
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Recruit_Depot_Parris_Island for information about Parris Island.

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Example #2: Marine Corps Cadence - "Everywhere We Go"



TheCrazySweed, Uploaded on Nov 11, 2010
-snip-
Transcription*
[The squad repeats each line after the caller chants it.}

Everywhere we go,
People wanna know,
ah Who we are,
So we tell them,
We're the boys from 47 you heard so much about,
ah Momma take their daughters in whenever we go out
FEELS GOOD
SOUNDS GOOD
HA-HA,
Ah You can take a look at us and see we're MOTIVATED
Ah You can take a look at us you know we're DEDICATED
Ah Lo righta lay-eft
Ah Lefty righta lay-eft
Ah Lo righta lay-eft
Ah Left righta lay-eft
A Lo-righta lay-eft
I love to double time
When I say Marine you say Corp
Marine
Corps
Marine
Corps
Ah Lo righta lay-eft
Ah Lefty righta lay-eft,
Ah Lo righta lay-eft,
Ah Left righta lay-eft
A Lo-righta lay-eft,
I love to double time
-snip-
*Transcription by Azizi Powell. Additions & corrections are welcome.

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RELATED LINK
Click http://www.squad-leader.com/cadence/everywhere-we-go/ for two clean versions of the United States Navy's version of "Everywhere I gO".

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Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube and those who I quoted in this post. And thanks to the dedicated and motivated members of the United States armed services.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

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My Old Granny, She's 91 (military cadence videos, lyrics, & notes)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases sound files of and (clean) text examples (lyrics) for the United States Military cadence "When My Granny Was 91". This cadence is also known as "My Granny", "My Great Grandmomma" and other similar titles.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

WARNING: The examples of military cadences in this post are "clean" ("family friendly").

However, many other examples of military cadences & many comments about military cadences that are found in the website links given below (particularly in the Wikipedia page on cadences and in many YouTube viewer comment threads), as well as in many other websites/blogs about military cadences often contain profanity, explicit sexual references, excessive violence, and other content which isn't suitable for children.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/information-about-examples-of-duckworth.html to find general information about United States military cadences

Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/03/yo-greasy-grimey-granny-black-talk-in_04.html for a pancocojams post on the children's chant "Yo Greasy Grimey Granny". That chant may have been composed from the "My Old Granny, She's 91" military cadence.

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GENERAL OVERVIEW OF "MY OLD GRANNY, SHE'S 91" CADENCE
"My Old Granny She's 91" is a running cadence which is composed of two line rhyming verses which are chanted in the standard call & response pattern. The verses to this cadence usually proceed in chronological order. The cadence begins with the grandmother at age 91 and usually ends with the grandmother being commanded by the archangel St Peter who guards Heaven's door [the Pearly Gates] to "drop ten" (do ten push ups).

The tune of this cadence is the same tune as the African American Old Time Music songs "Hambone" and "Hush Little Baby Don't You Cry".

The cadence "My Old Granny, She's 91" brags about the physical prowess, stamina, and tough attitude of an elderly grandmother.
The words to "My Old Granny, She's 91" are meant to encourage thee troops to complete their PT (physical training) since they wouldn't want to be bested by their elderly grandmother.

The grandmother's exaggerated physical feats is an example of the American folk custom of "telling tall tales" ("telling lies", "bragging contests"). Telling tall tales was a leisure time activity that Americans - Black, White, and other races - engaged in, particularly in the American Western frontier (in the 19th century) and in the rural areas of the American South (from the 19th century up to at least the mid 20th century).

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FEATURED VIDEOS AND LYRICS
(These examples are posted in chronological order based on their posting date with the oldest dated examples presented first. Unless otherwise noted, I transcribed these cadences' lyrics from the sound files (videos). Additions and corrections are welcome.

Note: There are many other examples of this cadence. Like other folk cultural compositions (songs, rhymes, cadences and other chants), the structure & tune of this cadence are relatively fixed, and some of the lines to this cadence have become standard. However, as long as the example conforms with the pattern & theme of the cadence, an example isn't considered wrong if it contains different words.

Example #1: Army Cadence - My Old Granny, She's 91



UnMotivated, Uploaded on Sep 19, 2008
-snip-
LYRICS: MY GRANNY’S 91
(The "group" repeats each line that is chanted by the "caller".)

1, 2, 3, 4
1, 2, 3, 4
My old granny, she’s 91
She does PT just for fun
My old granny, she’s 92
Stand in her way, she’ll run you right through
My old granny. she’s ah 93
She does PT in a tree
My old granny, she’s ah 94
Knock down the walls and busted the door
My old granny’s she’s ah 95
She does PT and that’s no jive
When my old granny was ah 96
She done PT just for kicks
When my old granny was ah 97
She up and died and she went straight to heaven
She met St. Peter at the pearly gate
She said “Hey, St. Peter, I hope I ain’t late"
Saint Peter looked at her with a grin
He said “Get down Granny and knock down ten”
-snip-
Term Explanations & Other Notes
"That’s no jive" – that’s not a lie

"Knock down 10" - do ten push ups

Regarding the "ah" in lines such as "My old granny’s she’s ah 94" and "When my old granny was ah 97" - “Ah” is the way many African Americans informally pronounce the word “a”. However, in this cadence amd in many other cadences “ah” used this way is a rhythm enhancer and not a word.

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Example #2: Navy Running Cadences



MrRicoLove, Uploaded on May 8, 2010
-snip-
LYRICS
(The "group" repeats each line that is chanted by the "caller".)

My grand momma was 91
She does PT just for fun
But* when grand momma was s 92
She did PT better than you
When my grand momma was 93
She did PT better than me
She ran ten miles every day
Just ah hootin and ah hollerin all the way.
She said ah “Ooh!**
Ah!
Ooh ooh
ah ah
When my grand momma was 94
She PT’d to get out the door.
When my grand momma was 95
She did PT to stay alive
But* when my grand momma was 96
She did PT just for kicks
She ran ten miles every day
Just ah hootin and ah hollerin all the way.
She said ah “Ooh!**
Ah!
Ooh ooh
ah ah
When my grand momma was 97
She PT’d to get into heaven
She met St. Peter at the pearly gates
She said “St. Peter, St. Peter am I late”
St Peter replied with a big ole grin
He said “Drop down granny and give me ten”
She said “Hey hey
Alright
Hey hey
Out of sight
Hey hey
Feelin great
Gotta get
In shape
-snip-
Term Explanations & Other Notes
*The group omits the word “but”

** The group only says “Ooh”

Pt = physical training

"give me 10" - do ten push ups

"out of sight" = something that is exceptional (very good)

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Example #3: my grandmama was 92 (marine cadence)



Jellisrellish Uploaded on Jul 25, 2010

another maine cadence in the series. hope you enjoy.
-snip-
Here's my transcription of those lyrics.
Note: The platoon repeats each line that is chanted by the "caller".

My grand mama was ah 92
She used to PT like ah me and you
My grand mama was ah 96
She did her PT just for kicks
My grand mama was ah 107
Well, the poor girl died and she went to heaven
My grandmamma was ah 98
She went side-straddle hoppin' through the pearly gates
My grandmamma was ah 109
She had oh JC double and dime*
Lo righta layo
ah left right alayo
-snip-
*I'm not sure if I correctly transcribed these word.
-snip-
Here's another version of this cadence which was posted by Nathan Posey (2012) on that sound file’s comment thread:

When my Grandmama was 91,
she did PT just for fun
When my Grandmama was 92,
she did PT better than you
When my Grandmama was 93,
she did PT better than me
When my Grandmama was 94,
she did PT more n' more
When my Grandmama was 95
she did PT to stay alive
When my Grandmama was 96
she did PT just for kicks
When my Grandmama was 97
she up and died she went to heaven
When my Grandmama was 98
she met Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates.

****
Example #4:
From http://www.tulane.edu/~afrotc/jodie.htm "air force rotc Jodie Page"

My Granny...

When my granny was 91
She did PT just for fun

When my granny was 92
She did PT better than you

When my granny was 93
She did PT better than me

When my granny was 94
She did PT more and more

When my granny was 95
She did PT to stay alive

When my granny was 96
She kept on doing flutter-kicks

When my granny was 97
She up and died and went to heaven

She met St. Peter at the pearly gates
Said, "St. Peter, St. Peter, hope I'm not late

St. Peter said with a big ol' grin
"Get down granny, and knock out ten"

She replied with a big ol' smile
"Sorry, St. Peter, I'm on profile!"
-snip-
"on profile" = "personel who can't participate in reegular physical fitness training because of an injury or other physical condition/s. http://community.armystudyguide.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/6151093521/m/2941098352/p/2

Generally speaking, persons in the armed services don't want to be "on profile" ("profiled").

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Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube and those who I quoted in this post. And thanks to the dedicated and motivated members of the United States armed services.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More