Military cadence

In the armed services, a military cadence or cadence call is a traditional call-and-response work song sung by military personnel while running or marching. In the United States, these cadences are sometimes called jody calls or jodies, after Jody, a recurring character who figures in some traditional cadences.

Requiring no instruments to play, they are counterparts in oral military folklore of the military march. As a sort of work song, military cadences take their rhythms from the work being done (compare sea shanty). Many cadences have a call and response structure of which one soldier initiates a line, and the remaining soldiers complete it, thus instilling teamwork and camaraderie for completion. The cadence calls move to the beat and rhythm of the normal speed (quick time) march or running-in-formation (double time) march. This serves the purpose of keeping soldiers "dressed", moving in step as a unit and in formation, while maintaining the correct beat or cadence.

The word "cadence" was applied to these work songs because of an earlier meaning, in which it meant the number of steps a marcher or runner took per minute. The cadence was set by a drummer or sergeant and discipline was extremely important, as keeping the cadence directly affected the travel speed of infantry. There were other purposes: the close-order drill was a particular cadence count for the complex sequence of loading and firing a musket. In the Revolutionary War, Baron von Steuben notably imported European battlefield techniques which persist, greatly modified, to this day.

The Duckworth Chant (or Sound Off!)

A V-Disc About this sound (help·info) issued in 1944 credits the origin of Sound Off (The Duckworth Chant) to Private Willie Duckworth.

…as a company … was returning from a long tedious march through swamps and rough country, a chant broke the stillness of the night. Upon investigation, it was found that a Negro soldier by the name of Willie Duckworth, on detached service with the Provisional Training Center, was chanting to build up the spirits of his comrades.

It was not long before the infectious rhythm was spreading throughout the ranks. Footweary soldiers started to pick up their step in cadence with the growing chorus of hearty male voices. Instead of a down trodden, fatigued company, here marched 200 soldiers with heads up, a spring to their step, and smiles on their faces. This transformation occurred with the beginning of the Duckworth Chant.

Upon returning to Fort Slocum, Pvt. Duckworth, with the aid of Provisional Training Center instructors, composed a series of verses and choruses to be used with the marching cadence. After that eventful evening the Duckworth Chant was made a part of the drill at Fort Slocum as it proved to be not only a tremendous morale factor while marching, but also coordinated the movements of close order drill with troop precision.[1]

This original cadence was recorded as "Sound Off:"

Sound-off; 1 - 2; Sound-off; 3 - 4; Cadence count; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4; 1 - 2 — 3 - 4.

This cadence, known as the "Duckworth Chant," exists with some variations in many different branches of the U.S. military. Duckworth's simple chant soon was elaborated by folk tradition among drill sergeants and the soldiers under their command, and the tradition of creating elaborate marching chants or songs spread to other branches of the military.

"Jody calls"

In the United States, what are now known as cadences were called jody call or jody (also jodie) from a recurring character, a civilian named "Jody" whose luxurious lifestyle is contrasted with military deprivations in a number of traditional calls. The mythical Jody refers to a civilian who remains at home instead of joining the military service. Jody is often presumed to be medically unfit for service, a 4F in World War II parlance. Jody also lacks the desirable attributes of military men. He is neither brave nor squared-away. Jody calls often make points with ironic humor. Jody will take advantage of your girlfriend in your absence. Jody stays at home, drives the soldier's car, and gets the soldier's sweetheart (often called "Susie") while the soldier is in boot camp or in country. (Serendipitously, the name works just as well for female soldiers.)

The name derives from a stock character in African-American oral traditions, "Joe the Grinder,"[3] who is also prominent in Merle Haggard's song "The Old Man of the Mountain."[4] The character's name has been transcribed as "Joady," "Jody," "Jodie," "Joe D.", or even "Joe the ____" (in dialect, "Joe de ____") with Joe then identified by occupation. He was a stock anti-hero who maliciously took advantage of another man's absence. Enlisted African-American soldiers incorporated this character into cadence songs during the Second World War.

Lineberry emphasizes conflicting uses of the calls: they are useful to command, in that they serve as instruments to psychologically detach the soldier from home-life, and to inculcate a useful degree of aggression. They are useful to the soldier, who can vent dissatisfaction without taking individual responsibility for the expression.[5] While jodies, strictly speaking, are folklore (they are not taught institutionally, and do not appear, for example, in FM 22-5, Drill and Ceremonies Field Manual), some are tolerated and even encouraged by leadership, while others are subversive. [5]

Common themes in jodies include:

• Homesickness.
• Quotidian complaints about military life.
• Boasts (of one's own unit) and insults (of one's competitor, which may be another unit, another service branch, or the enemy.)
• Humorous and topical references.

Lineberry offers an alternative, psychologically and functionally-oriented taxonomy. There are negative themes (disrespect expressed for deities, women, homosexuals, the enemy and economically deprived comrades; graphic expression of violence perpetrated on women and the enemy, glorification of substance abuse) but also positive (unit pride, encouragement of comrades) and perhaps in-between, expressions of contempt for death and indifference to mortality.

One example used in the U.S. Army:

My honey heard me comin' on my left right on left
I saw Jody runnin' on his left right on left
I chased after Jody and I ran him down
Poor ol' boy doesn't feel good now

M.P.s came a runnin on their left right on left
The medics came a runnin' on their left right on left
He felt a little better with a few I.V.s
Son I told you not to mess with them ELEVEN Bs (the designation for infantry in the Army)

One from the U.S. Marine Corps:

Jody, Jody six feet four
Jody never had his ass kicked before.
I'm gonna take a three-day pass
And really slap a beating on Jody's ass!

At the end of the 1949 movie Battleground (film) the cadence sung is as follows, with the call initiated by the drill sergeant and the response from the rest of the platoon:

You had a good home but you left / You're right
You had a good home but you left / You're right
Jody was there when you left / You're right
Your baby was there when you left / You're right
Sound off! / 1,2
Sound off! / 3,4
Cadence count! / 1,2,3,4,1,2...3,4!

They signed you up for the length of the war / I've never had it so good before

The best you'll get in a biv-ou-ac / Is a whiff of cologne from a passing WAC

Sound off! / 1,2
Sound off! / 3,4
Cadence count! / 1,2,3,4,1,2...3,4!

There ain't no use in going back / Jody's livin' it up in the shack

Jody's got somethin' you ain't got / It's been so long I almost forgot

Sound off! / 1,2
Sound off! / 3,4
Cadence count! / 1,2,3,4,1,2...3,4!

Your baby was lonely, as lonely could be / Til Jody provided the company

Ain't it great to have a pal / Who works so hard just to keep up morale

Sound off! / 1,2
Sound off! / 3,4
Cadence count! / 1,2,3,4,1,2...3,4!

You ain't got nothin' to worry about / He'll keep her happy until I get out

An' you won't get home til the end of the war / In nineteen hundred and seventy four

Sound off! / 1,2
Sound off! / 3,4
Cadence count! / 1,2,3,4,1,2...3,4!

Reverent

Reverent calls are a growing effort by conservative personnel in armed forces to rebuild the tradition of oratory recounting of military history in the convention of cadences. The effect this instills is a greater reverence in the squad performing and for the force whose story is retold in honorable PT (Physical Training). Each branch of an armed force has its stories, and an example of the base used is the 101st Infantry's "Airborne Ranger" in which references to Bataan for example are included to complement the story.

Airborne
Rangers lead the way
Lead in
Airborne
Rangers lead the way
Deep in the battlefield covered in blood
Lies an Airborne Ranger dying in the mud
Airborne
Rangers lead the way
With those silver wings upon his chest
Tell America that he's one of their best
Airborne
Rangers lead the way
Lead out
Airborne
Rangers lead the way

Comedic

Comedic calls are often born of reverent calls but sung for comedic value using clean calls, pop-culture references, and jokes to make PT more fun and entertaining. A popular example from the film Stripes was "Why did the chicken cross the road?" "To get from the left to the right." "Stepped out of rank, got hit by a tank." "He ain't a chicken no more." Prior to women being commonplace in Army ranks, comedic cadences were more prevalent. Example: See that lady wearing brown? She makes her livin' goin' down... She's a deep-sea diver... a deep sea diver.

See that lady wearing black? She makes her livin' on her back... she's a back-stroke swimmer... a back stroke swimmer.

See that lady from the south? She make her living with her mouth... she's a rock n' roll singer... a rock n' roll singer.

And so on.