Blood On The Risers
[tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"]
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
He was just a rookie trooper,
And he surely shook with fright.
He checked all his equipment,
And made sure his pack was tight.
He had to sit and listen
To those awful engines roar,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
And 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 jumped into the icy blasts,
His static line unhooked,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
He counted long, he counted loud,
He waited for the shock.
He felt the wind, he felt the cold,
He felt the awful drop.
The silk from his reserve spilled out
And wrapped around his legs,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
The risers swung around his neck,
Connectors cracked his dome.
Suspension lines were tied in knots
Around his skinny bones:
The canopy became his shroud
As he hurtled to the ground,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
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 medicos,
And wondered what they'd find,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
The ambulance was on the spot,
The Jeeps were running wild.
The medics jumped and screamed with glee,
Rolled up their sleeves, and smiled.
For it had been a week or more
Since last a 'chute had failed,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
He hit the ground,
The sound was "SPLAT",
His blood went spurting high.
His comrades then were heard to say:
"A helluva way to die!"
He lay there rolling 'round
In the welter of his gore,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
There was blood upon the risers,
There were brains upon the 'chute.
Intestines were a'dangling
From his paratrooper suit.
He was a mess! They tipped him up,
And poured him from his boots,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
Our paratrooper's song is done.
His jumping days are through.
Propeller blast has died away.
He's qualified for true.
He slipped from a 'chute of white,
Into one of red, white, and blue.
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
They say he went to Heaven,
Upon arriving there, I'm told,
He was given a pair of silver wings,
And a parachute of gold.
He may be happy there,
But me, I'll stay down here,
'Cause he ain't gonna jump ever more!
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
GORY, GORY, what a helluva way to die.
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
Blood On The Risers
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!
He was just a rookie 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 those awful engines roar,
"You ain't gonna jump no more!"
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
The days he's 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'd find.
He ain't gonna jump no more!
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!
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!
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!
He hit the ground, the sound was "SPLAT",
The blood went spurting high,
His comrades then were heard to say:
"A helluva way to die!";
He lay there simply twitching
In the welter of his gore.
He ain't gonna jump no more!
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!
There was blood upon the risers,
There were brains upon the 'chute,
Intestines were a-dangling
From his paratrooper's suit.
They picked him, still in his 'chute
And poured him from his boots.
He ain't gonna jump no more!
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!
They placed him in a blanket,
Then they laid his soul to rest.
They notified his next of kin;
His funeral was the best.
And on his monument of stone
They scribed this little verse:
He ain't gonna jump no more.
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!
Blood On The Risers
"Is everybody happy?"
Said the sergeant looking up;
Our hero feebly answered "Yes"
And then they hooked him up.
He jumped into the slipstream,
And he twisted twenty times,
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
He counted loud, he counted long,
And he waited for the shock;
He felt the wind, he felt the air,
He felt that awful drop.
He pulled his lines, the silk came down,
And wrapped around his legs,
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
The days he lived and loved and laughed
Kept running through his mind.
He thought about the medics,
And wondered what they'd find.
He thought about the girl back home,
The one he left behind.
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
The lines all wrapped around his neck,
The D rings broke his dome;
His lift webs wrapped themselves
In knots around each skinny bone.
His canopy became his shroud,
As he hurtled to the ground,
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
The ambulance was on the spot,
The Jeeps were running wild;
The medics, they clapped their hands,
And rolled their sleeves and smiled;
For it had been a week or more,
Since last a chute had failed.
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
He hit the ground, the sound was "SPLAT",
The blood went spurting high.
His pals were heard to say:
"Oh what a lovely way to die!"
They rolled him up, still in his chute,
And poured him from his boots,
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
There was blood upon his lift webs,
There were brains upon his chute,
There was goo that came a tricklin'
From his paratrooper boots.
And there he lay like jelly
In the welter of his gore,
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
An' he ain't gonna jump no more!
Blood On The Risers
The jumper's knees were in the breeze,
So to check the spot, he looked.
An' as our hero stood in the door,
He clutched The Paratrooper's Handbook.
He jumped right out into the blast,
His static line unhooked.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
He counted long, he counted loud,
Four thousand was his goal.
He tumbled out of stable
An' began a forward roll.
He spun out flat, began to dive
An' went right outta control.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
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
As he hurtled to the ground.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
He pulled the handle on his reserve
An' threw it far away.
He tried to grab the skirt,
But all his thumbs got in the way.
He tore it out, all full of holes,
An' then began to pray.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
The days he'd lived and loved and laughed
Kept running through his mind.
He thought about the girl below,
The one he'd left behind.
He thought about the medicos
An' wondered what they'd find.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
The ambulance was on the spot,
Its mighty siren wailed.
The medics rolled their sleeves and smiled
As through the air he sailed.
For it had been a week or more
Since last a chute had failed.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
The drop zone was a'comin' fast,
A hundred miles or more.
"I get his helmet an' his boots,"
He heard a buddy roar.
He bounced around the runway
In the welter of his gore.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
His pelvis crashed into his chest,
His ribs poked through his side.
His helmet bounced a'hundred feet,
His head was still inside.
The ground crew stood there laughing
As he rolled around and died.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
There was blood upon the risers,
There were brains up in the chute,
Intestines were a'danglin'
From his paratrooper's boots.
They picked him up, still in silk,
But he poured right to the floor.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die.
Oh, he ain't gonna jump no more!
Glory, Glory, What a Lovely Way to Die
They flew the Flying Fortress up to forty thousand feet,
Up to forty thousand feet,
Up to forty thousand feet,
Oh, they flew the Flying Fortress up to forty thousand feet,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
And every paratrooper says:
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
With a rifle on your back,
While you're fallin' through the sky!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
'Cause he ain't gonna jump no more!
The captain was the jumpmaster, he led the stick,
He led the stick,
He led the stick,
Oh, the captain was the jumpmaster, he led the stick,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
And every paratrooper says:
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
With a rifle on your back,
While you're fallin' through the sky!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
'Cause he ain't gonna jump no more!
The corporal tied a slipknot in the sergeant's parachute,
In the sergeant's parachute,
In the sergeant's parachute,
Oh, the corporal tied a slipknot in the sergeant's parachute,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
And every paratrooper says:
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
With a rifle on your back,
While you're fallin' through the sky!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
'Cause he ain't gonna jump no more!
The sergeant was the last to jump, the first to hit the
ground,
The first to hit the ground,
The first to hit the ground,
Oh, the sergeant was the last to jump, the first to hit the
ground,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
And every paratrooper says:
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
With a rifle on your back,
While you're fallin' through the sky!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
'Cause he ain't gonna jump no more!
They scraped him off the drop zone with a rusty bayonet,
With a rusty bayonet,
With a rusty bayonet,
Oh, they scraped him off the drop zone with a rusty bayonet,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
And every paratrooper says:
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
With a rifle on your back,
While you're fallin' through the sky!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
'Cause he ain't gonna jump no more!
They put him in a matchbox, sent it to his mom,
Sent it to his mom,
Sent it to his mom,
Oh, they put him in a matchbox, sent it to his mom,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
And every paratrooper says:
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
With a rifle on your back,
While you're fallin' through the sky!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
'Cause he ain't gonna jump no more!
His mom, she didn't want him, so she gave him to the mess,
She gave him to the mess,
She gave him to the mess,
Oh, his mom, she didn't want him, so she gave him to the
mess,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
And every paratrooper says:
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
With a rifle on your back,
While you're fallin' through the sky!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
'Cause he ain't gonna jump no more!
The mess, they didn't want him, so they put him in the soup,
They put him in the soup,
They put him in the soup,
Oh, the mess, they didn't want him, so they put him in the
soup,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
And every paratrooper says:
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
With a rifle on your back,
While you're fallin' through the sky!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
'Cause he ain't gonna jump no more!
The lieutenant, he warned us, not to eat the soup,
Not to eat the soup,
Not to eat the soup,
Oh, the lieutenant, he warned us, not to eat the soup,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
And every paratrooper says:
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
With a rifle on your back,
While you're fallin' through the sky!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
'Cause he ain't gonna jump no more!
But the moral of this story is to never trust the corporals,
To never trust the corporals,
To never trust the corporals,
Oh, the moral of this story is to never trust the corporals,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
And every paratrooper says:
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
With a rifle on your back,
While you're fallin' through the sky!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
'Cause he ain't gonna jump no more!
And the moral of the moral is to always pack your 'chute,
To always pack your 'chute,
To always pack your 'chute,
Oh, the moral of the moral is to always pack your 'chute,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
And every paratrooper says:
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
With a rifle on your back,
While you're fallin' through the sky!
Glory, glory, what a lovely way to die,
'Cause he ain't gonna jump no more!
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