"Bless 'Em All", also known as "The Long And The Short And The Tall" and "Fuck 'Em All", is a war song. The words have been credited as being written by Fred Godfrey in 1917 to music composed by Robert Kewley. It was first recorded by George Formby, Jr. in 1940.
The song has also been credited to Jimmy Hughes, Frank Lake and Al Stillman.
Video Bless 'Em All
History
Godfrey claimed to have thought up the lyrics for the song while serving with the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) at Dunkirk during the First World War, recalling in a 1941 letter to the Daily Mirror: "I wrote "Bless 'Em All" while serving in the old RNAS in France in 1916. And, furthermore, it wasn't "Bless.'" Although the song is credited to him, it is unclear if he actually wrote the lyrics, and his service record indicates that he joined RNAS in January, 1917. Les Cleveland (1984) writes that a version of the song titled Fuck 'Em All was a popular protest song by airmen serving on India's North West Frontier during the 1920s, and may have originated from there. It later gained popularity among British and Commonwealth troops during the Second World War, and with a change of lyrics became a patriotic tune after being performed by singers such as Gracie Fields and Vera Lynn. It was also recorded by George Formby and others. Ward Brown noted that "(...) The line You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean seems to reflect the point of view of soldiers about to be sent to a fighting front on the other side of an ocean - presumably the Atlantic. This would point to an American origin for the song, rather than a British one, though there is no clear evidence for such an origin". However the 'ocean' referred to, given a British-Indian origin, is much more likely to be the Indian Ocean - although the English Channel would do just as well for the purposes of the song.
Maps Bless 'Em All
Lyrics
Bless 'em all,
Bless 'em all.
The long and the short and the tall,
Bless all those Sergeants and WO1's,
Bless all those Corporals and their blinkin'/bleedin' sons,
Cos' we're saying goodbye to 'em all.
And back to their Billets they crawl,
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean,
So cheer up my lads bless 'em all
Flying versions
A version of the song specifically about pilots and flying - which the AFI Catalog of Feature Films credits as "words and music by Jimmy Hughes, Frank Lake and Al Stillman - has the verse lyrics:
Bless the instructors who taught us to die
They say that we're lucky 'cause we're still alive
For if ever the engine should stall
We're in for a heck of a fall
No roses or violets for flat-footed pilots
So cheer up my lads bless 'em all
Another version of the song based around World War II bomber pilots was used in the 1942 film To Be or Not to Be. The verse goes:
A bomber was leaving his base for Berlin,
A cargo of gifts from the boys.
There's one for old Hitler packed full of HE, [i.e. High Explosives]
And an especially big one for old Hermann G. [i.e. Goering]
So here's to the bombs big and small,
We'll send up a cheer as they fall,
'Til Hitler's defeated,
So cheer up my lads bless them all.
Irish version
A satirical version of the song became very popular in Ireland during the Second World War (known in neutral Ireland as the Emergency). The song was a reaction to the widespread rationing of tea, sugar, tobacco and other goods due to the drastic drop in imports, particularly from Britain. It poked fun at Ireland's Taoiseach Éamon de Valera and Minister Seán McEntee who were blamed for the shortages and rationing. The line "the long and the short and the tall" had particular sarcastic resonance because De Valera was tall while McEntee was very short.
The Irish version of the song included the lines:
Bless 'em all,
Bless 'em all.
The long and the short and the tall,
Bless De Valera and Seán McEntee,
They gave us the black flour,
And the half-ounce of tea.
They rationed the cocoa and all,
But rationed themselves not at all.
They're bringing starvation
To our little nation,
So cheer up St Vincent de Paul.
In popular culture
Films
- The song was used as the title theme to the 1961 film The Long and the Short and the Tall.
- The song was sung and used as an instrumental theme in the 1941 film Confirm or Deny
- The song is sung by the characters in Captains of the Clouds (1942).
- "Bless' Em All" is sung by the pilots of the Polish Brigade of the Royal Air Force in the 1942 comedy film To Be Or Not To Be
- In the 1943 Canadian film Corvette K225 the song is sung by members of the crew and is used in an instrumental version as part of the score.
- The song is heard as a snippet in Guadalcanal Diary (1943), sung by the Marines on the island as well as Marine Raiders (1944).
- The song is heard being sung in the Officers Club in the 1949 film Twelve O'Clock High with Gregory Peck and Dean Jagger. In the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, the song is credited as "words and music by Jimmy Hughes, Frank Lake and Al Stillman".
- The song is featured in the film Chain Lightning with Humphrey Bogart, released in 1950. It is sung twice, and the melody is used as instrumental backing for the film's climax. As with Twelve O'Clock High, the AFI Catalog credits the song to Jimmy Hughes, Frank Lake and Al Stillman.
- A version of the song was sung by United States Marines on the march to the Hungnam Evacuation after the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
- The song is sung by the POWs in The Colditz Story (1954).
- An instrumental version is heard in the 1955 Clark Gable / Lana Turner movie Betrayed.
- The song is heard as a snippet in the Red Cross Service Club scene in the 1956 William Holden and Deborah Kerr film The Proud and Profane.
- "Fuck 'Em All" is heard in the 2007 film Atonement being sung by soldiers as they wait to be evacuated from Dunkirk.
Television
- Archie Bunker sings a few lines of the song in the final seconds of the season one episode "Success Story" of the TV show All in the Family.
- In the Magnum, P.I. episode "Echoes of the Mind Part I" Jonathan Higgins listens to a record of the song.
References
External links
- Bless 'Em All page from Bless 'Em All: The Songs of Fred Godfrey
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments
