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{{trope}}
In the military, especially during a long march or run, the [[Sergeant Rock|sergeant]] will lead a song called a cadence call, military cadence, or jody song to keep his subordinates' spirits up as they train, march, or work around their base or encampment.
The songs cover a variety of topics, including the civilian at home who's sleeping with your significant other (i.e. Jody), the amount of [[Badass]] your service or unit has compared to the other services or units, the hazards unique to your particular unit or service, your own vulgar and violent tendencies, et cetera.
Although many of the songs are [[Call-and-Response Song|call-and-response]], not all of them are. However, they are always sung to the rhythm of the task at hand.
{{examples}}
== [[Advertising]] ==
* Ads for ''Frosted Flakes'' cereal over the past few years have adopted one of these as their theme. "We are tigers..." Taken from the Princeton U fight chant.
== Anime
* In a bit of [[Cultural Cross-Reference]], the Ground Forces trainees in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' are shown using the "If I die in the combat zone" cadence of ''[[Full Metal Jacket]]'' [[All There in the Manual|in the manga set before the third season]].
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== Film ==
* ''Battleground'' (1949). A jody call used by the protagonists' glider infantry platoon is the theme music of the movie.
* ''[[Full Metal Jacket]]'', for that matter, has quite a few during the
{{quote|"Up every mornin' to the rising sun
Gonna run all day 'till the runnin's done
Line 34 ⟶ 35:
{{quote|I can barely move my legs!
Do me a favor and kill me now!
Something, something rhymes with "[[Rhyming with Itself|legs]]"!
My life is over anyhow! }}
* Troops jogging around the military base in ''[[Hot Shots]]'' are singing the theme from ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'' as a cadence...
* Used in ''
{{quote|I don't know but I been told
Team USA's gonna win the gold
Line 49 ⟶ 50:
End of the world be mighty cold }}
* The title of the movie ''[[She Wore a Yellow Ribbon]]'' comes from an old marching song (Civil War/Wild West era). Some versions are quite a bit racier than the movie's version.
* In the film ''[[An Officer and a Gentleman]]'', the Navy officer candidates, led by their own [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]] chant:
{{quote|I don't know but it's been said
that Air Force wings are made of lead.
Line 55 ⟶ 56:
that Navy wings are made of gold. }}
** The film also features the [[Real Life]] military classic "Napalm Sticks to Kids". Network television showings generally use an alternate take.
* Lampooned in the movie ''[[Stripes]]'', when Bill Murray and Harold Ramis, after joining the Army, begin using [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43vOAw2sAFU "Do Wah Diddy Diddy"] as a jody during their first march. Bizarrely, it works really well. Not only the right rhythm to it, it even has a call-and-response section....
** Reportedly, some armed forces units are ''[[Defictionalization|actually using this song as a jody now]]'', because of the use in this film and how surprisingly well it worked.
* In ''[[Renaissance Man]]'', civilian instructor Bill Rago makes up a jody call about ''Hamlet''. By the end of the film, Drill Sergeant Cass is using it for the new batch of recruits.
{{quote|Hamlet's momma, she's the queen
Buys it in the final scene
Line 65 ⟶ 66:
{{quote|'''Titan:''' I am Titan, I am strong!
'''Ham:''' No one wants to sing along! }}
* From ''[[Kindergarten Cop]]'', during the "Arnold is learning to bond with the kindergarteners" montage and he's leading the kids around the playground in recess:
{{quote|Readin', writin', arithematic
Too much homework makes me sick
Line 72 ⟶ 73:
* ''[[Little Giants]]'', in which the eponymous Giants (a children's [[American Football]] team) have this crude cadence insulting their sole opponent's coaches:
{{quote|''I don't know, but I've been told:
[[Unfortunate Names|Butz's butt]] is green with mold.
You say thank you, I say please.
Kevin [[Broken Aesop|sits down when he pees]].'' }}
* In ''[[Heartbreak Ridge]]'' Gunny Highway orders one of his men to give a cadence after witnessing the other platoon give a rather mundane one. The young man complies and belts out an incredibly rude one... right as they pass by a female Marine. Gunny's look is priceless.
{{quote|''Model A Ford with a tankfull of gas
Hand full of pussy and a mouthful of ass.'' }}
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Sing it as we run along
Why we sing this we don't know
[[Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion|We can't make the words rhyme prop'rly]]"
Sound off!
(One, two!)
Sound off!
(Many, lots!)
''Sound off''!
(Er... wot?)! }}
** [[
* Kayla Williams's book ''Love My Rifle More Than You: Young And Female In The US Army'', takes its title from a cadence going:
{{quote|Cindy, Cindy, Cindy Lou
Line 98 ⟶ 99:
You were once my beauty queen
Now I love my M-16. }}
* The Aiel of ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'', a [[Proud Warrior Race]], only sing in battle and at funerals. One of their marching songs begins:
{{quote|Wash the spears
While the sun climbs high
Line 112 ⟶ 113:
And toss the dice until we fly,
To dance with Jak O'the Shadows... }}
* The ''[[Dragonriders of Pern]]'' series uses songs as training/mnemonics, and some of them quite fit this mold.
{{quote|Drummer, beat, and piper, blow,
Harper, strike, and solider, go,
Line 128 ⟶ 129:
So highdy highdy Christ almighty, who the hell are we?
Zim zam, Goddamn, we're Airborne Infantry!" }}
** They also do several verses of the airborne version of ''Battle Hymn of the Republic'' (''Blood Upon the Risers'') "Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die! He ain't gonna jump no more!" later on.
* In ''[[The Pacific]]'', a company-wide version of "Happy Birthday" turns into "how fucked are you now?"
* The theme music for the first and second seasons of ''[[The Unit]]'' was a remixed cadence call, "Fired Up, Feels Good." Somewhat [[Did Not Do the Research|snicker-worthy]] in that they used a Marine cadence call for a show about Army special ops. Oops. A different theme for the next two seasons.
* The Australian ''[[Late Show]]'' released a comedy tape/CD that included,
{{quote|I don't know but I've been told
Fitted sheets are hard to fold }}
* [[Word of God]] says this is the origin of Adama and Starbuck's exchanges in ''[[Battlestar Galactica
{{quote|Hey, Starbuck, whaddya hear?
Nothing but the rain,<ref>"rain" is a reference to the sound of debris hitting the hull of a Viper as the pilot flies through a cloud of what used to be their target.</ref>
Then grab your gun and bring in the cat.
Boom boom boom }}
* Used in [[Stephen Colbert]]'s Basic Training experience as part of the "Operation Iraqi Steven: Army of Me" week of shows recorded in Baghdad, Iraq.
* There was a ''Rottentrolls'' spinoff/[[Christmas Special]] called Combat Sheep: Don't Flock (or something like that), which included a convention of people who make up training jodys, with many short gags of having one of them speaking solely in cadence calls. One example:
{{quote|I must say that I'm in shock;
I've spilled Tango down my sock }}
* In the ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' Season Four episode ''Meltdown,'' the waxdroids who Rimmer has appointed himself General of are led in a marching song by a robot [[Elvis Presley]].
{{quote|''"All we do is a kill and slay''
''"Don't care we if we get blown away!"'' }}
Line 149 ⟶ 150:
== Music ==
* Modest Mouse's "I Came A Rat":
{{quote|Well I don't know but I've been told\\You'll never die and you never grow old}}
* The late Captain Jack, of ''[[Dance Dance Revolution]]'' fame, and his (well, [[I Am Not Shazam|''their'']]) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBj1mTyGDgA eponymous song]. Makes sense, since Frankie Gee (the lead singer) was a soldier in the US Army, and the military theme was pretty much his entire stage persona.
Line 161 ⟶ 162:
The Seventeen is the best
Gooooooo[[Overly Long Gag|oooooooooooooooooo]] left go right go pick up the step, go left go right go left... }}
* [[Christina Aguilera]] sampled a Marine cadence called "Tarzan and Jane Swinging On a Vine" in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ScjucUV8v0 "Candyman"].
== Newspaper Comics ==
* One old ''[[Beetle Bailey]]'' strip has Beetle leading a squad singing [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfkcUqZMZ94 Call Me Irresponsible.] Incidentally, the first few lines do fit the standard
== Radio ==
* Radio station WCPT in Chicago, a progressive (liberal) radio station, used this cadence during commercial breaks several years ago{{when}}:
{{quote|I don't know but I've been told
Right-wing lies are getting old
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== Recorded and Stand
* In his 2002 Broadway stand-up show, [[Robin Williams]] lampooned the Swiss Army knife's perennial inclusion of a corkscrew, imagining a Swiss [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]] explaining to raw recruits how to open a bottle of wine under fire. "I don't know but I've been told, Chardonnay must be served cold..."
== Tabletop Games ==
* No lyrics are actually given, but the Imperial Guard, Space Marines, and Sisters of Battle in ''[[Warhammer
** The Grey Knights have the Canticle of Absolution, which is, of course, [[Number of the Beast|six-hundred-and-sixty-six words long]].
==
* Parodied in ''[[Seussical|Seussical: The Musical]]'' with the soldiers chanting "Green Eggs and Ham".
* In ''[[Spamalot]]'', the musical version of ''[[Monty Python and
{{quote|I don't know but it's been said
We're off to war, we're not yet dead
Line 197 ⟶ 198:
Listen up, now here's the news
We're taking Israel for the Jews! }}
* ''[[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]]'' opts for puns:
{{quote|One, two! One, two!
We not only fought, but we won, too!
Line 209 ⟶ 210:
Deidre's got a Network Node
Likes to press on the on-off switch
Dig that crazy Gaian witch|[[
* Jamjars from ''[[Banjo-Kazooie|Banjo-Tooie]]'' uses these to explain newly learned moves to the main characters. If you talk to him again, he tries a plain English explanation instead.
{{quote|Jump up high and then press Z,
Don't need fly pads or feathers red! }}
* In ''[[Fallout
* Parodied in ''[[The Sims 2]]'' with the description of the Military Recruit career. "I don't know but I've been told, cleaning latrines gets mighty old!"
==
* ''[[Darths and Droids]]'' has the following when the [http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0164.html droids start their invasion of Naboo]
{{quote|We are badass through and through!
Line 226 ⟶ 227:
== Web Original ==
* Skippy of ''[[Skippy's
{{quote|58. The following words and phrases may not be used in a cadence- Budding sexuality, necrophilia, I hate everyone in this formation and wish they were dead, sexual lubrication, black earth mother, all Marines are latent homosexuals, Tantric yoga, Gotterdammerung, Korean hooker, Eskimo Nell, we've all got jackboots now, slut puppy, '''or any references to squid'''.<ref>(Perhaps because it's a nickname for sailors, often used in a derogatory manner.)</ref>}}
== Western Animation ==
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' had one when Prinicipal Skinner rejoined the Army. Skinner disapproved of the version the recruits already knew, and decided to make it more educational.
{{quote|"I don't know but I've been told
The Parthenon is mighty old"
(How old?)
"We don't know!" }}
{{quote|"We are happy, we are merry
We've got a rhyming dictionary" }}
* In a ''[[Taz-Mania]]'' short where the family goes hiking and it starts to rain, somebody calls for a cadence and Taz chants:
{{quote|Taz hate water, Taz hate water
Taz hate water, Taz hate water }}
* Referenced in the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "War Is The H-Word"
* "Colonel Hathi's March" from Disney's ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]''. It's sung by the Elephant Patrol whenever they make their entrance about twice in the film (The first time is when Mowgli and Bagheera accidentally run into them while attempting to get the former back to the "Man-village", and the second is when Bagheera asks them to help him and Baloo find Mowgli before Shere Khan does).
{{quote|Hup, two, three, four
Line 264 ⟶ 265:
In a military style!
In a military style! }}
{{quote|Oh, we march from here to there
And it doesn't matter where
Line 279 ⟶ 280:
For a furlough in the shade!
For a furlough in the shade! }}
* In the ''[[Family Guy]]'' episode "Saving Private Brian:"
{{quote|[[West Side Story]], [[Anything Goes]]
Two of our favorite Broadway shows
Line 289 ⟶ 290:
Call me smart, call me inspired
You're gonna march 'til I get tired. }}
{{quote|'''Drill Sgt:''' I don't know but I've been told
Army life is mighty bold
Every night before retreat
'''Yakko:''' We order out for luncheon meat. }}
* In ''[[The Oblongs]]'', [[Girl Posse|the Debbies]] have such a song when earning money for a Girl Scouts (or "Little Amazons") competition. The lyrics contain advice for upper-class debutantes.
{{quote|I don't know but I've been told
Marry a man who's rich and old
I don't know but it's been said
Don't sign a prenup when you wed. }}
* In ''[[The Fairly
{{quote|I don't know but I've been told
Gigglepie accessories are seperately sold. }}
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==
* [[Truth in Television]]. Songs like this are very much a part of life in the armed forces, especially during basic training since they allow a person to focus on something other then the monotonous/unpleasant job at hand. A simple Google search for "Jody Calls" will yield many examples of these songs. Unfortunately, the traditional whimsical tone of Jody Calls isn't immune to abuse, and on occasion, soldiers have voiced discomfort about Jody Calls they've felt are ''too'' racist or homophobic. This trend seems a minor issue at best these days, and most calls (like the ones listed here) certainly aren't meant to be taken as the literal meaning of their words.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]
[[Category:Music Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Sound Off]]
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