Video The Caissons Go Rolling Along circa 1942 US Office of Emergency Management World War II

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"Sung by Robert Weede." World War II "music video" produced by the US Government, with footage mostly of jeeps and artillery. The lyrics for this version differ from all of the three versions cited at Wikipedia.

NEW VERSION with improved video & sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lH28OfEJXI

Public domain film from the Prelinger Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Army_Goes_Rolling_Along

"The Army Goes Rolling Along" is the official song of the United States Army and is typically called "The Army Song."

The Caisson Song

The song is based on the "Caisson Song" written by field artillery First Lieutenant (later Brigadier General) Edmund L. Gruber, Lieutenant William Bryden, and Lieutenant (later Major General) Robert Danford while stationed at Fort Stotsenburg in the Philippines in March 1908. The tune quickly became popular in field artillery units. In 1917 the Secretary of the Navy and army Lieutenant George Friedlander of the 306th Field Artillery asked John Philip Sousa to create a march using the "Caisson Song." Sousa changed the key, harmony, and rhythm and renamed it "U.S. Field Artillery." Sousa didn't know who had written the song and had been told that it dated back to the Civil War. Although an army magazine claims that Sousa passed on his royalties to Gruber, other sources state that Gruber became involved in a prolonged legal battle to recover the rights to music he had written and that had been lifted (unknowingly or not) by Sousa and widely sold by sheet music publishers who reaped profits while Gruber received nothing. The music became so popular that it was also used in radio ads by firms such as the Hoover Vacuum Company. Gruber lost his battle in the courts. They ruled that he had waited too long to complain and that his music was by that time in the public domain.

"The Caisson Song" was never designated as the official U.S. Army song likely because the lyrics were too closely identified with the field artillery and not the entire army. The official song retains Gruber's music, but with re-written lyrics.

Search for an Official Song

As the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard had already adopted official songs, the Army was eager to find a song of its own. In 1948, the Army conducted a contest to find an official song (Tom Lehrer claims to have submitted "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier" in this contest), but no entry received much popular support. In 1952, Secretary of the Army Frank Pace asked the music industry to submit songs and received over 800 submissions. "The Army's Always There" by Sam Stept won the contest, and an Army band performed it at President Dwight D. Eisenhower's inaugural parade on January 20, 1953. However, many thought that the tune was too similar to "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts," so the army decided to keep Gruber's melody from the "Caisson Song" but with new lyrics. A submission of lyrics by Harold W. Arberg, a music advisor to the Adjutant General, was accepted. Secretary of the Army Wilber Marion Brucker dedicated the music on Veterans Day, November 11, 1956. The song is played at the conclusion of most U.S. Army ceremonies, and all soldiers are expected to stand at attention and sing...

Caisson Song (1908, original version)

The original lyrics are disputed and may not have been written down prior to 1918.

Over hill over dale we will hit the dusty trail
As the caissons go rolling along.
Up and down, in and out, Countermarch and right about,
And our caissons go rolling along.
For it's hi-hi-hee in the Field Artillery, Shout out the number loud and strong.
Till our final ride, It will always be our pride
To keep those caissons a rolling along.
(Keep them rolling - keep them rolling)*
Keep those caissons a rolling along.
(B-a-t-t-e-r-y H-a-l-t!)*

Source: United States Field Artillery Association
U.S. Field Artillery (1918)

(Music by Gruber, arranged by Sousa, copyright and published by Carl Fischer)

- Over hill, over dale,
- We will hit the dusty trail,
- And those Caissons go rolling along.

- Up and down, in and out,
- Counter march and left about,
- And those Caissons go rolling along,

- For it's high high he,
- In the Field Artillery,
- Shout out your "No" loud and strong,

- For wher-e'er we go,
- You will always know,
- That those Caissons go rolling along...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Weede

Robert Weede (February 22, 1903 -- July 9, 1972) was an American operatic baritone...