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Marine Cadence

Marine Cadence

"Gonna run all day "til the running's done." That's just one of dozens of Marine cadence calls you'll hear on Marine Corps bases. These call-and-response Marine Corps running cadences and marching songs include inspiring or funny marine corps cadence lyrics that we are collecting for you in our Marine Corps Stories collection at SGT GRIT.

These songs and chants promote teamwork, and help Marines keep the beat of a marching rhythm while breathing more deeply as they inhale and exhale between each word.

An Army soldier in World War II is credited with the simple "Sound Off" cadence with the lyrics: "Sound-off; 1-2. Sound-off; 3-4. 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4."

Of course, there have been hundreds of variations on "Sound Off" in the decades following World War II. One of our SGT GRIT customers submitted this one: "I gotta girl named Buffalo Bill. She won't do it, but her buffalo will. Sound off 1-2 …"

All military branches have marching drill cadences. One Marine shared this one with SGT GRIT: "Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door. Jump right out, and shout Marine Corps."

Among other Marine Corps cadence lyrics to submitted to SGT GRIT by Marines are these remembered words from the Vietnam War era:

Mama, mama have you heard

LBJ has passed the word

Gonna go to Vietnam to fight and kill those Vietnam Cong

Now if I die in a combat zone

Box me up and ship me home

Fold my arms across my chest

And tell all the women that I done my best.

And this one:

Jump from the rack in the middle of the night

Make a head call and I'm ready to fight……

And this one remembered from serving on Parris Island in 1965:

Birdie, birdie In the sky

Drop a little white wash in my eye

I'm no swabbie, I won't cry

Gee, I'm glad that cows don't fly.

Another recently submitted remembered cadence:

Hey there, Air Force,

Get in your planes and carry me

We are Marine Corps infantry

Best you know on land and sea.

Hey there, Navy,

Get in your boats and transport me,

We are Marine Corps infantry

Best you know on land and sea.

Hey there, Army,

Climb in your tanks and follow me,

We are Marine Corps infantry

Best you know on land and sea.

Share the cadences you remember from Marine Corps drills with SGT GRIT and our readers.

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Comments

Cpl. Luke. - March 26, 2020

Ain’t no use in looking down….
There ain’t no six pack on the ground…..

Ain’t no use in looking baaaack……
Jody’s took your cadillac………

I don’t know but I believe……
I’ll be home by christmas eve….

I got a girl name CindyLou…..
CindyLou, loves to PT too…….

PLT. 3000 Paris Island Nov. 1970….Wertz, Chipman, Butler….
And I must be nuts to remember this. Yikes!!

Eric Gagomiros - March 26, 2020

I know a girl from new orleans, kisses sailors after blowing Marines

Eric Gagomiros - March 26, 2020

I don’t know but I heard say, the US Navy is going gay

L/Cpl So Sueme - March 26, 2020

My D.I. is turning green
Someone pi**ed in his canteen

Cpl Bob Korea - March 26, 2020

Threep four your left……..your left right left

Dwayne Booker - March 26, 2020

Mama mama can’t you see- what the Corp has done for me- made me tough – they made me mean- make me into a killing Marine…

michael l mcintosh - March 26, 2020

if I die on the Russian front -bury me with a Russian c-unt plt 2005 mcrd san diego 1972

Tony Beltran - March 26, 2020

A C-130 rolling down the strip, the best of the best is going to take a little trip.

Sgt Pete Ott - March 26, 2020

I know a girl who lives on the hill
She won’t do it but her sister will

Bill Brown - March 26, 2020

In 10 days and I’ll be home, drinking beer and pissing foam!

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