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"The Army Goes Rolling Along" is the official song of the United States Army[1] and is typically called "The Army Song."
The song is based on the "John Philip Sousa to create a march using the "Caisson Song." Sousa changed the key, harmony, and rhythm and renamed it "U.S. Field Artillery."[3] Sousa didn't know who had written the song and had been told that it dated back to the Civil War. Although an army magazine claims that Sousa passed on his royalties to Gruber,[4] other sources state that Gruber became involved in a prolonged legal battle to recover the rights to music he had written and that had been lifted (unknowingly or not) by Sousa and widely sold by sheet music publishers who reaped profits while Gruber received nothing. The music became so popular that it was also used in radio ads by firms such as the Hoover Vacuum Company. Gruber lost his battle in the courts. They ruled that he had waited too long to complain and that his music was by that time in the public domain.
"The Caisson Song" was never designated as the official U.S. Army song likely because the lyrics were too closely identified with the field artillery and not the entire army. The official song retains Gruber's music, but with re-written lyrics.
As the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard had already adopted official songs, the Army was eager to find a song of its own. In 1948, the Army conducted a contest to find an official song (Tom Lehrer claims to have submitted "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier" in this contest), but no entry received much popular support. In 1952, Secretary of the Army Frank Pace asked the music industry to submit songs and received over 800 submissions. "The Army's Always There" by Sam Stept won the contest,[5] and an Army band performed it at President Dwight D. Eisenhower's inaugural parade on January 20, 1953. However, many thought that the tune was too similar to "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts," so the army decided to keep Gruber's melody from the "Caisson Song" but with new lyrics. A submission of lyrics by Harold W. Arberg, a music advisor to the Adjutant General, was accepted.[6] Secretary of the Army Wilber Marion Brucker dedicated the music on Veterans Day, November 11, 1956.[7] The song is played at the conclusion of most U.S. Army ceremonies, and all soldiers are expected to stand at attention and sing. When more than one service song is played, they are played in the order specified by Department of Defense directive: army, marine corps, navy, air force, and coast guard.[8]
The original lyrics are disputed and may not have been written down prior to 1918.
Source: United States Field Artillery Association
An alternative third, fourth and fifth lines in th WWII - Korean War era was, Counter March, Right About; Hear those wagon soldiers shout! And those caissons go rolling along.
The archaic phrase in the first line -- normal American English would have "over hills" and "into valleys" -- is Shakespearean, from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, Scene 1: "Over hill, over dale / Thorough bush, thorough briar / Over park, over pale / Thorough flood, thorough fire". The author then must rhyme it with "hit the dusty trail", which would suggest cavalry more than artillery. However, the imagery of ..."the dusty trail" does seem to evoke the Civil war. That is, two tandem horse teams pulling the caissons over the trail.
(Music by Gruber, arranged by Sousa, copyright and published by Carl Fischer)
Source: Library of Congress Performing Arts Encyclopedia
As of 08 May 2013 the verse, the first chorus, and refrain are sung (Per ALARACT 124/2013).
Verse:
Chorus:
Refrain:
Source: U.S. Army Bands information and recordings
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