Maple 01 is quite correct, in the 60's there were regional variations between the Ballykelly, Kinloss and St Mawgan versions

Speaking of regional variations, don't forget the Changi version sung by those ("..arseholes of the universe, bigger c*nts you've never seen... etc.") extraordinary drinkers, fornicators and part time aviators of 205 V.D. Their 'start-up' introduction was an extraordinary tribute to operating the mighty Griffon in equatorial conditions.

Virgo????


Why on earth did you choose to bring this one back to the surface??

Tarnished.

PS

I've heard Lomcevak sing and to be honest I'd rather forget it.

PPS Just kidding Lomcevack, ,,,, want to do a turn at my Burn's Supper in LSA this year????

Ray, that would be this.... yeah it's pretty much the same tune as I remember it.

Substitute bless for the F word, at your own lesiure gents. ;)

Bless 'em all! Bless 'em all!
The long and the short and the tall!
Bless all the Sergeants we have to obey,
Bless all the corp'rals who drill us all day,
'Cos we're saying goodbye to them all,
As back to their barracks they crawl
No ice cream and cookies for flat-footed rookies
Cheer up, my lads Bless 'em all.

Bless 'em all! Bless 'em all!
The long and the short and the tall!
Bless the Commander whose deck we must scrub;
Bless the Chief Steward who hands out the grub
Though we'd rather be caught in a squall
Than dine on that wormwood and gall
Forget all those notions, you're sailing the oceans
So cheer up, my lads, Bless 'em all!

Bless 'em all! Bless 'em all!
The long and the short and the tall!
Bless the instructors who teach us to dive,
Bless all our stars that we still are alive,
For if ever the engine should stall,
We're in for one hell of a fall;
No champagne or vi'lets for dead fighter pilots
So cheer up, my lads, Bless 'em all!

Bless 'em all! Bless 'em all!
The long and the short and the tall!
Bless all the posters with beautiful scenes
They swore we would see if we joined the Marines
'Cos we ain't seen no scenery at all
Except what we scrawl on the wall,
O what if we suffer, Marines have it tougher
So cheer up, my lads, Bless 'em all!

Bless 'em all! Bless 'em all!
The long and the short and the tall!
Bless all the nurses when you're in dry dock
You know that your temp'rature's firm as a rock
But when one grabs your pulse you feel small,
And you know that you've had a close call,
So don't lose your head, just be glad you're in bed
And cheer up, my lads, Bless 'em all!

I always had assumed the MiG part of the song had been added when we were 8-prop air defenders. Glad to have been corrected.

Between this thread and the one for honkers I'm almost misty-eyed. Must go and stare at a photo of a wave for 8 hours with my head in the washing machine and get the missus to shout "Hello Polestar Hello Polestar. Oops wrong box"every ten minutes. That should cure it.

Best sound in the world was the sound of a Shackleton taking off. Meant you weren't on board.

Now that IS funny Dunhovrin !!!


:ok: :O :ok:

1950s ATC (Air Training Corps) song, though doubtless of much earlier vintage:-

He jumped from forty thousand and forgot to pull the cord,
He jumped from forty thousand and forgot to pull the cord,
He jumped from forty thousand and forgot to pull the cord,
And he ain't gonna fly no more.

They scraped him off the tarmac like a pound of strawberry jam,
They scraped him off the tarmac like a pound of strawberry jam,
They scraped him off the tarmac like a pound of strawberry jam,
And he ain't gonna fly no more.

(We were a simple lot, so we needed simple, easy-to-remember lyrics.)

G-CPTN

You forgot the

Glory glory hallelula - three times before the - he ain't going to jump no more, again 3 times.

It was, I believe, a US Army refrain written during their para training.

The Captain was the last to jump but first to hit the ground
The Captain was the last to jump but first to hit the ground
The Captain was the last to jump but first to hit the ground
And he ain't gonna jump no more

Glory, glory what a heck of a way to die...

Tarnished,

I would happily take you up on the offer but it is a little far from EGDM. Glad to see that you are keeping the old traditions alive.

Happy New Year

L

What were the Shack names...??

I remember vaguely Zebedee, Florence etc...Magic roundabout ?

40 thousand rivets flying in close formation.. Fantastic smell of leather much like the Vulcan.

yep, leather and Racasan

Help
 

Can somebody supply a few lines or verses of You can't get to heaven in a Meteor Jet, all I can think of is "they don't fly that high yet!"

Re: The Shackleton song
 

Another slightly different version from Air Cadet days:


He jumped without a parachute from 40 thousand feet,
He jumped without a parachute from 40 thousand feet,
He jumped without a parachute from 40 thousand feet,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die,
Suspended by your braces with your balls up in the sky,
He tried to pull his ripcord,
But instead he pulled his fly,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

They scraped him off the runway like a lump of strawberry jam,
They scraped him off the runway like a lump of strawberry jam,
They scraped him off the runway like a lump of strawberry jam,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Glory, glory ......... etc.

They put him in a jam jar and they sent him home to Mum,
They put him in a jam jar and they sent him home to Mum,
They put him in a jam jar and they sent him home to Mum,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Glory, glory ....... etc.

She put him on the mantle piece among the souvenirs,
She put him on the mantle piece among the souvenirs,
She put him on the mantle piece among the souvenirs,
And ...... he ....... ain't ...... gonna ...... jump ..... no ...... more.



Or the US Airborne version:

He was just a cherry trooper and he surely shook with fright
as he checked all his equipment and made sure his pack was tight
He had to sit and listen to the awful engines roar,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

"Is everybody happy?" cried the Sergeant, looking up.
Our hero feebly answered "yes," and then they stood him up.
He leaped right out into the blast, his static line unhooked.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:
He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock;
He felt the wind, he felt the clouds, he felt the awful drop;
He jerked his cord, the silk spilled out and wrapped around his legs.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:

The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome;
The lines were snarled and tied in knots, around his skinny bones;
The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:

The days he’d lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind;
He thought about the girl back home, the one he’d left behind;
He thought about the medics and wondered what they’ed find.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:

The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild;
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, they rolled their sleeves and smiled;
For it had been a week or more since last a chute had failed.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:

He hit the ground, the sound was splat, his blood went spurting high;
His comrades were then heard to say, "A helluve way to die";
He lay there rolling ‘round in the welter of his gore.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:

There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute;
Intestines were a-dangling from this paratrooper’s boots;
They picked him up, still in his chute and poured him from his boots.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

CHORUS:

Re: The Shackleton song
 

You'll never get to Heaven in a PBY,
'Cause a PBY don't fly that high.


- quite common, I think