Now over there across the sea they've got another war
But oh, I wonder if they know
Just what they're fighting for,
In that war, that crazy war.
In 1917, you know, we helped them win their fight,
But all we got was a lesson
In what Shernman said was right,
In that war, that crazy war.
I was a sinmple country lad, I lived down on the farm
I'd never even killed a gnat nor done a body harnm,
Until that war, that crazy war.
One day the sheriff caught me, said "Come along, my son
Your Uncle Sanm is needing you to help hinm tote a gun
In that war, that crazy war."
They took me down to the courthouse, my head was in a whirl,
And when the doctors passed on me,
I wished I'd been a girl,
In that war, that crazy war.
They took me out to the rifle range to hear the bullets sing,
I shot and shot that whole day long
And never hit a thing
In that war, that crazy war.
The captain said to fire at will and I said who is he,
The old fool got so raving mad
He fired his gun at me
In that war, that crazy war.
When first we got to sunny France, I looked around with glee,
But rain and kil-o-meters
Was all that I could see,
In that war, that crazy war.
A cannonball flew overhead, I started honme right then
The corporal he was after me
But the general beat us in
In that war, that crazy war.
And now we're back at home again from over there in France,
The enenmy lost the battle
And we lost all our pants
In that war, that crazy war
I run all over Europe a-trying to save my liFe,
There will come another war,
I'll send my darling wife
In that war, that crazy war.
Well, wars may come and wars may go, but get this on your mind,
There will come another war,
I'll be hard to find
In that war, that crazy war.
But oh, I wonder if they know
Just what they're fighting for,
In that war, that crazy war.
In 1917, you know, we helped them win their fight,
But all we got was a lesson
In what Shernman said was right,
In that war, that crazy war.
I was a sinmple country lad, I lived down on the farm
I'd never even killed a gnat nor done a body harnm,
Until that war, that crazy war.
One day the sheriff caught me, said "Come along, my son
Your Uncle Sanm is needing you to help hinm tote a gun
In that war, that crazy war."
They took me down to the courthouse, my head was in a whirl,
And when the doctors passed on me,
I wished I'd been a girl,
In that war, that crazy war.
They took me out to the rifle range to hear the bullets sing,
I shot and shot that whole day long
And never hit a thing
In that war, that crazy war.
The captain said to fire at will and I said who is he,
The old fool got so raving mad
He fired his gun at me
In that war, that crazy war.
When first we got to sunny France, I looked around with glee,
But rain and kil-o-meters
Was all that I could see,
In that war, that crazy war.
A cannonball flew overhead, I started honme right then
The corporal he was after me
But the general beat us in
In that war, that crazy war.
And now we're back at home again from over there in France,
The enenmy lost the battle
And we lost all our pants
In that war, that crazy war
I run all over Europe a-trying to save my liFe,
There will come another war,
I'll send my darling wife
In that war, that crazy war.
Well, wars may come and wars may go, but get this on your mind,
There will come another war,
I'll be hard to find
In that war, that crazy war.
Contributed by Alessandro - 2009/9/28 - 10:50
Language: Italian
Una versione italiana di non so chi ripresa da Bibliolab
CANZONE POPOLARE AMERICANA
Ero un ragazzo semplice, di campagna, vivevo in una fattoria,
Non avevo mai ucciso neppure una mosca, nè fatto male ad alcuno,
Fino a questa guerra, a questa folle guerra.
Un giorno lo sceriffo venne a prendermi e disse: "Seguimi, figliolo,
Lo zio Sam ha bisogno di farti imbracciare il fucile.”
In questa guerra, in questa folle guerra.
Quando arrivai per la prima volta nella Francia piena di sole
Mi guardai intorno felice come una pasqua
Ma tutto quello che potei vedere furono pioggia e chilometri di strada,
In questa guerra, in questa folle guerra.
E ora siamo tornati dalla Francia, siamo di nuovo a casa,
Il nemico ha perso la guerra, ma noi abbiamo perso anche i calzoni,
In questa guerra, in questa folle guerra.
Ero un ragazzo semplice, di campagna, vivevo in una fattoria,
Non avevo mai ucciso neppure una mosca, nè fatto male ad alcuno,
Fino a questa guerra, a questa folle guerra.
Un giorno lo sceriffo venne a prendermi e disse: "Seguimi, figliolo,
Lo zio Sam ha bisogno di farti imbracciare il fucile.”
In questa guerra, in questa folle guerra.
Quando arrivai per la prima volta nella Francia piena di sole
Mi guardai intorno felice come una pasqua
Ma tutto quello che potei vedere furono pioggia e chilometri di strada,
In questa guerra, in questa folle guerra.
E ora siamo tornati dalla Francia, siamo di nuovo a casa,
Il nemico ha perso la guerra, ma noi abbiamo perso anche i calzoni,
In questa guerra, in questa folle guerra.
Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2014/7/31 - 09:24
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Note for non-Italian users: Sorry, though the interface of this website is translated into English, most commentaries and biographies are in Italian and/or in other languages like French, German, Spanish, Russian etc.
Prima registrazione nota: Jimmy Yates & His Boll Weevils, 1929.
Una canzone dalla prima guerra mondiale, sulla melodia della sciovinista "The Battleship of Maine", quella che racconta, del controverso episodio - l'affondamento della nave da guerra americana Maine a Cuba - che fornì il pretesto per la guerra ispano-americana del 1898.
"This song seems to have been adapted to fit almost every war in existence. It is fitting, though, that it apparently comes from World War I -- the stupidest, most wasteful conflict of them all."
***
Una canzone dalla Grande Guerra – combattuta dagli statunitensi dall’aprile 1917 – sulla melodia della popolare “The Battleship of Maine”, risalente alla guerra ispano-americana del 1898.
Il testo fu poi sempre ripreso ed adattato a tutti i conflitti cui gli USA presero parte, dalla Seconda guerra mondiale, a quella di Corea, al Vietnam…
Per esempio, quelle che seguono sono tre strofe – riprese dal buon Mudcat Café- aggiunte da Michael Cooney nella sua versione presente nel disco intitolato "The Cheese Stands Alone" del 1968 (senz’altro buffe, ma pure un esplicito invito alla diserzione):
I thought the hogs must all be dead and the hens had ceased to lay
In that war, that crazy war.
I run all over Europe just tryin' to save my life.
There will come another war; I'll send my darling wife
To that war, that crazy war.
Now wars may come and wars may go, but get this on your mind:
There will come another war and I'll be hard to find
In that war, that crazy war.
La prima incisione dovrebbe essere quella dei Jimmy Yates' Boll Weevils risalente al 1929 (nella raccolta intitolata “Bloody War: Songs 1924-1939”.
Seguono quelle del duo Lulu Belle & Scotty (1940 o 1941), dei New Lost City Ramblers di Mike Seeger e infine quella di Michael Cooney.
(Bernart Bartleby)