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Words to the Songs we Sang.


Get Your Ass Off the Grass
(To the tune of 'Red River Valley')

1.
The groundcrew are painting the barracks
The pilots play poker all day
The chiefy has gone to the madhouse
So, what can a poor pilot say?

Chorus
Get your ass off the grass if you're lucky 
We have only six Swifts on the line 
And each one of the bastards is broken
I wish I was flying a (Meteor) 'Nine'

2.
The boss on his second first solo 
Was trying a reheat climb
When he pulled through from 35,000 
He wished he was flying a 'Nine'

3.
The AOC may see a flypast
The Hunters are sure to go by
There may be a lone Swift behind them
Perhaps in the same patch of sky

4.
They say in the circuit it's dangerous 
If you pull it too tight it may flick 
So, they let us drive past in a Magi 
What speed does a Magi unstick?

5.
In April I started converting
In June in a cockpit I sat
And in August I started the engine
When I called up they said I'm repat!


Fighter Recce Pilot.
(To the tune of 'The Man Who Broke the Bank of Monte Carlo')
1
I'm a fighter recce pilot and my name is Joseph Soap
I left the shores of England and my heart was full of hope
Oh, I wanted to be an instructor bold
And never do what I was told
But now I'm just a fighter recce pilot

Chorus
Set your course for Moenchen Gladbach
Moline See, Steinhudermeer
What's the course to steer?
A crate of Carlsberg beer
Oh, I'm just setting 'red on blue'
This f... pin-point can't be true
It's hell to be a fighter recce pilot!

2
When you're briefed to recce 'Cloggers' from a height of 50 feet
You do your checks, start up the kite and climb into the seat
And before you're even in the air, you see your film stream everywhere
It's hell to be a fighter recce pilot

3
When you're briefed to recce Bonn from a height of 40 feet 
You go right down to zero just to give the k a treat 
Dr Adenauer is heard to complain, it's 'Shiny Two' again 
It's hell to be a fighter recce pilot

4
When to Sylt you are invited for the Squadron's dining-in
You've drunk them out of Carlsberg and you've drunk them out of gin 
Oh, the Sabre boys are much too dead - they've all gone off to bed 
And left it to the fighter recce pilots.

5
Now your tour is over, you're due to go back to the promised land
The CO gently takes you and he shakes you by the hand
Oh! goodbye my friend this is the end, you've gone completely round the bend
You never should have been a recce pilot


Reheat, Reheat - Go!
(To the tune of 'Deutsch land Uber Alles')

Reheat, reheat, bright blue orifice
See the eyelids open wide
Reheat reheat blasting backwards
Pilot says, 'I'm satisfied'
Switch the brake boost gently downwards
Aircraft soon will be in flight
Faster, faster even faster
Aircraft soon will be in flight


Island in the North Sea
(To the tune of 'Island in the Sun')
Wingco Gerricke's (OC Flying, Sylt) Lyrics by Chris Wade, Sylt 1958

1	
This is my Island in the North Sea	
Where my Squadrons do all my work for me 
My pilots fly for me every day	
Just to earn for me all my flying pay	

Chorus
Oh, Island in the North Sea
Happy days that you give to me 
All my days I will sing in praise
Of my lousy weather, my GCAs

2	
My pilots fly when my cloud is low	
and my GCI tells them where to go	
My GCA brings them in alive	
Provided the runway is not 15

3.
I see Sergeant on bended knee 
Counting holes on my flag for me
He finds my PAI has a nought
U/S gunsight - we all abort!

4	
My German pilots are very fine	
They land their aircraft on my white line	
My Yankee pilot is also good	
Except when he runs into my overshoot
	
5
My Belgian pilots will never know 
That my Hunters prang when my crosswinds blow
Their scores are good - but what is this sound?
They've fired their guns while on the ground

6
My Twenty Squadron will fly all day
But they keep on shooting my flags away
If their scores are bad they come down and say
`My radar's not working so good today'

7
I hope the day will never come
When I leave my Island, and get sent home
But I will always remember you
My finest squadron - my 'Shiny Two'


93 Squadron
(To the tune of 'Eton Boating Song')

1
We are the 93rd day fighter squadron -
Tatty Old 93
The Squadron with all the Crack Bods on 
Commanded by Browne (with an E).

2
We fly our Sabres from Jever
And never a care have we.
Without our drop tanks, we go BOOM BOOM
We're Tatty old 93.

3.
Fly, Fly together
We're Tatty old 93
Without our drop tanks, we go BOOM BOOM
Commanded by Browne (with an E).


We've Just Come Down from a Routine Sortie
(To the tune of 'Windy City')

We've just come down from a routine sortie
A routine sortie at just above forty
And guess who we found there, easy to say,
There was 14 and 20 with their eyes up their a--
Their eyes up their a-- and they ought to wear glasses
'Cos they can't see 26 - coming up from behind
We get more shots on 14 and 20 than the whole of TAF combined.


Farewell to Wg Co West.
l; letter-spacing: 0em">(Can anyone remember the tune it was sung to?)

Now we call him Hammer, for this and that
And we call him Pinto too,
We are his Boys in Blue
The fighting 122,
And, if you want a wing for you to perform
The the answer will be, well let it be from
The Finest Fighter Wing in the Royal Air Force.

CHORUS

1. We're the Boys in blue, of 122,
We're the pilots all so bold,
To see is to behold,
All that you have been told,
All, about us and our ways so gay
With Hammer leading every day
It's the Finest Fighter Wing in the Royal Air Force.

2. We're the Boys of 4 and 93, 98 and 118,
We have the best Wingco,
With dirty old Pinto,
Bull, Schreechers, Chappie and Brown with an E,
Altogether, good company,
Led by the Finest Wingco. Flying in the Air Force.

CHORUS

3. Ahlhorn, Oldenburg, Bruggen and Sylt,
Laabruch and Wildenwrath,
To us they're just a laugh,
We're the Best in Second T.A.F.,
And when, our Wing is high in the air,
Then there's no other Wing that can compare
With the Finest Fighter Wing in the Royal Air Force.

CHORUS

4. There's a rumour that goes, or so I'm told,
That Volks will never roll,
Mention it to Pinto,
He'll say that's not so,
For, one Sunday shortly after midday,
He rolled his Volks. and we heard him say,
I'm the finest rolling driver in the Air Force.

CHORUS

5. There was a parade held a year ago,
Sir Harry was out in front,
With Hammer back to front,
My goodness he felt a fool,
For, when giving an order to turn at the halt,
He turned his Wing the wrong way and thought,
"If you think it's funny then you'll get the Hammer.

CHORUS

*(Thanks to Eric Pigdon.)




Airman's Anthem.

I don't want to join the Air Force,
I don't want to go to war.
I'd rather hang around
Piccadilly underground,
Living on the earnings of a high born lady.
I don't want to fly an airplane,
I don't want my ** shot away
No I'd rather stay in England,
In jolly, jolly, England,
And *** my ** life away..

Tipperary

It's a long way to Tipperary,
It's a long way, to go.
It's a long way, to Tipperary,
To the sweetest girl I know.
Goodbye, Piccadilly,
Farewell , Leicester Square.
It's a long, long, way to Tipperary,
But my hearts right there.

White cliffs of Dover.

There'll be bluebirds over,
The white cliffs of Dover,
Tomorrow, just you wait and see.
There'll be love and laughter,
And peace ,ever after,
Tomorrow, when the word is free.
The shepherd will tend his sheep;
The valley will bloom again.
And Jimmy will go to sleep,
In his own little room again.
There'll be bluebirds over,
The white cliffs of Dover.
Tomorrow, just you wait and see.
Tomorrow, just you wait and see.

As time goes by

You must remember this,
A kiss is still a kiss,
A sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply,
As time goes by.
And when two lovers woo,
They still say "I love you"
On that you can rely,
No matter what the future brings,
As time goes by.
Moonlight and love songs,
Never out of date,
Hearts full of passion,
Jealousy and hate;
Woman needs man,
And man must have his mate,
That no-one can deny.
It's still the same old story,
A fight for love and glory,
A case of do or die.
The world will always welcome lovers,
As time goes by.

Bless 'ern All

They say there's a troopship just leaving Bombay,
Bound for old Blighty's shore,
Heavily laden with time expired men,
Bound for the land they adore.
There's many an airman just finishing his time,
There's many an erk signing on,
You'll get no promotion,
this side of the ocean,
So cheer up my lads,
Bless 'em all.

Chorus:

Bless 'em all, Bless 'em all,'
The long and the short and the tall,
Bless all the Sergeants and W.O. Ones,
Bless all the Corporals and their blasted sons,
'Cos we're saying goodbye to them all,
As back to their billets they crawl.
You'll get no promotion, this side of the ocean,
So cheer up my lads,
Bless 'em all.

The Whiffenpoof Song

To the table down at Mory's,
To the place where Louis dwells,
To the dear old Temple Bar we love so well,
Sing the Whiffenpoofs assembled,
With their glasses raised on high,
And the magic of their singing casts its spell.
Yes, the magic of their singing,
of the songs we love so well,
"Shall I Wasting" and "Mavoureen"
and the rest.
We will serenade our Louis,
While life and voice shall last,
Then well pass and be forgotten with the rest.

We're poor little lambs,
Who have lost their way.
Baa! Baa! Baa!
We're little black sheep,
Who have gone astray.
Baa! Baa! Baa!
Gentlemen songsters,
out on a spree.
Doomed from now to eternity;
Lord have mercy on such as we.
Baa! Baa! Baa!

Kiss me goodnight, Sgt. Major

Kiss me good night,
Sergeant Major,
Tuck me in my little wooden bed.
We all love you, Sergeant Major,
When we hear you bawling, "Show a leg".
Don't forget to wake me in the morning,
And bring me round a nice hot cup of tea.
Kiss me goodnight, Sgt Major. 

Love's old sweet song

Once in the dear dead days beyond recall,
When on the world, the mists began to fall.
Out of the dreams that rose with happy throng,
Low to our hearts, love sang an old sweet song.
And in the dusk, where fell the fire-lights gleam,
Softly it wove itself into our dream.

Just a song at twilight, when the lights are low.
And the flickering shadows, softly come and go.
Tho' the heart be weary, sad the day and long.
Still to us at twilight comes loves old song.
Comes love's old sweet song.

You'll never know

You'll never know just how much I love you,
You'll never know just how much I care.
And if I tried, I just couldn't hide, my love for you;
You ought to know,
for haven't I told you so,
A million or more times.

You went away and my heart went with you;
I speak your name in my ev'ry prayer.
If there's a way to prove that I love you,
I swear I don't know how.
You'll never know, if you don't know now.

A Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

That certain night, the night we met,
There was magic abroad in the air.
There were angels dining at the Ritz
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.

I may be right, I may be wrong,
But I'm perfectly willing to swear,
That when you turned and smiled at me,
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.

The moon that lingered over London Town,
Poor puzzled moon, he wore a frown.
How could he know, we two were so in love,
The whole darn world seemed upside down.

The streets of town were paved with stars,
It was such a romantic affair.
And as we kissed and said goodnight,
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.

We'll meet again

We'll meet again,
Don't know where,
Don't know when,
But l know we'll meet again some sunny day.
Keep smiling through,
Just like you always do,
Till the blue skies
drive the dark clouds tar away.

So will you please say "Hello",
to the folks that I know,
Tell them I won't be long.
They'll be happy to know,
That when you saw me go,
I was singing this song.

Well meet again,
Don't know where,
Don't know when.
But I know we'll meet again
Some sunny day.

Pack up your troubles

Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag
And smile, smile, smile.
While there's a lucifer to light your fag.
Smile boys, that's the style.
What's the use of worrying?
It never was worthwhile,
So, Pack up your troubles
in your old kit bag,
And smile, smile, smile.

Lilli Marlene

Underneath the lamplight,
by the barrack gate,
Darling I remember,
The way you used to wait.
'Twas there that you whispered, tenderly,
That you loved me,
You'd always be.
My Lilli of the Lamplight
My own Lilli Marlene.

Time would come for roll call,
Time for us to part,
Darling I'd caress you,
And press you to my heart,
And there 'neath that far off lantern light
I'd hold you tight,
We'd kiss Goodnight ,
My Lilli of the lamplight,
My own Lilli Marlene.

Now is the Hour

Now is the hour,
When we must say goodbye;
Soon you'll be sailing
Far across the sea.
While you're away,
Oh, please remember me,
When you return
You'll find me waiting, here.

It's been a long long, time

Just kiss me once,
Then kiss me twice,
Then kiss me once again.
It's been a long, long time.
Haven't felt like this, my dear,
Since can't remember, when,
It's been a long, long time.

You'll never know how many dreams
I've dreamed about you,
Or just how empty
they all seemed,
without you.

So, kiss me once,
And kiss me twice,
Then kiss me once again.
It's been a long, long, time.

Shine on harvest moon

Shine on, shine on harvest moon,
Up in the sky, I ain't had no lovin' since
January, February, June or July;
Snow time, ain't no time
to sit outdoors and spoon,
Shine on, shine on,
Harvest moon,
For my and my gal.

Let the rest of the world go by

With someone like you,
A pal good and true;
I'd like to leave it all behind,
And go and find
Some place that's known
To God alone,
Just a spot
To call our own.

Well find perfect peace,
Where joy will never cease
Out there, beneath a kindly sky,
Well build a sweet lithe nest,
Somewhere, in the west
And Get the rest of the world go by.

I'l1 see you again

I'll see you again
Whenever Spring
Breaks through again.
Time may He heavy, between,
But what has been,
Is past forgetting.
This sweet memory
Across the years
will come to me;
Tho' my world may go awry,
In my heart, will ever lie
Just the echo of a sigh
Good bye.

You are my sunshine

The other night, dear,
As I lay sleeping,
I dreamed I held you in my arms.
When I awoke, dear,
I was mistaken ,
And I hung my head, and cried:

You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine;
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you:
Please don't take my sunshine away.

When the lights go on again

When the lights go on again,
All over the world,
And the boys are home again,
All over the world,
And rain or snow is all that may fall
from the skies above;
A kiss won't mean 'goodbye'
But 'hello' to love.
When the lights go on again,
All over the world,
Then we'll have time for things
Like wedding rings
And free hearts will sing
When the lights go on gain,
All over the world.

There'll always be an England

There'll always be an England,
While there's a country lane;
Where ever there's a cottage small
Beside a field of grain.
There'll always be an England,
While there's a busy street,
Where ever there's a turning wheel,
A million marching feet.

Red, white, and blue
What does it mean to you?
Surely you're proud,
Shout it out loud
Britain's awake.
The Empire too,
We can depend on you;
Freedom remains,
These are the chains
Nothing can break.
There'll always be an England,
And England shall be free
If England means as much to you
As England means to me.

There's a long, long, trail

There's a long, long trail awinding
Into the land of my dreams,
Where the nightingales are singing
And a white moon beams.
There's a long, long, night of waiting
Until my dreams all come true;
'Til the day when be going down
That long, long, trail with you.

Wish me luck

Wish me luck, as you wave me goodbye;
Cheerio, here I go, on my way.
Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye,
With a cheer, not a tear,
Make it gay.
Give me a smile
I can keep all the while
In my heart while I'm away.
'Til we meet once again,
You and l,
Wish me luck, as you wave me Goodbye.

Good Night Sweetheart

Good night, Sweetheart,
'Til we meet tomorrow,
Good night, Sweetheart,
Sleep will banish sorrow.
Tears and parting
May make us forlorn,
But with the dawn
A new day is born.
So I'll say
Good night, Sweetheart,
Tho' I'm not beside you;
Good night Sweetheart,
Still my love will guide you
Dreams enfold you,
In each one I'll hold you,
Good night Sweetheart,
Good night.

Heart of my Heart

Heart of my heart,
love that melody,
Heart of my heart,
Brings back that memory.
When we were kids
On the corner of the street,
We were rough and ready guys, but
Oh how we could harmonize.
Heart of my heart,
Our friends were dearer then,
Too bad we had to part.
I know a tear would glisten
If, once more, I could listen
To that gang, that sang,
Heart of my Heart.

With kind permission from "Wartime Aircrew Songs - Sing Along"
Wartime Pilots' and Observers Association
P.O. Box 1702, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 2Z6, Canada.

(Thanks to Roger de Gobeo.)











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