The U.S. Air Force (song)

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"The U.S. Air Force" is the official song of the United States Air Force. It is informally known as "The Air Force Song," and is often incorrectly referred to as "Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder," or simply "Wild Blue Yonder."

Contents 1 History 2 Lyrics 3 Performance of the song 4 References 5 See also

History

Originally, the song was known as the 'Army Air Corps Song.' The lyrics and music were written by Capt. Robert Crawford in 1939. The words "U.S. Air Force" have since replaced the original "Army Air Corps".

In 1937, Army Air Corps second-in-command Hap Arnold persuaded his superior, Oscar Westover, that airmen needed a song reflecting their unique identity, and proposed a song competition with a prize to the winner. However, the Air Corps had no control over its budget, and could not give a prize. Liberty magazine stepped in, offering a purse of $1,000 to the winner.

Around 757 compositions were entered, and evaluated by a volunteer committee chaired by Mildred Yount, the wife of a senior Air Corps officer, and also featuring several distinguished musicians. The committee had until July 1939 to make a final choice. However, word eventually spread that the committee found no songs that satisfied them, despite the massive number of entries. Arnold, who took over command of the Air Corps in 1938 after Westover was killed in a plane crash, solicited direct inquiries from contestants, including Irving Berlin, but not even Berlin's creations proved satisfactory. Just before the deadline, Crawford entered his song, which proved to be a unanimous winner.

The song did not catch favor with everyone. At a dinner in September 1939, committee chair Yount played a recording of the song for Charles Lindbergh and asked his opinion of the song. He responded politely to Yount, but years later remarked in a diary, "I think it is mediocre at best. Neither the music nor the words appealed to me." Arnold did not share Lindbergh's opinion; he sought to fund publication of band and ensemble arrangements of the song for nationwide distribution. However, the Air Corps did not have enough money to widely publish the piece, so Crawford arranged a transfer of the song's copyright to New York music publisher Carl Fischer Inc., including a perpetual performance release in favor of the U.S. government. This means that unlike the other services, the Air Force does not own its own service song.

Lyrics

The full lyrics of the song are as follows:

Off we go into the wild blue yonder,
Climbing high into the sun;
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder,
At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun! (Give 'er the gun now!)
Down we dive, spouting our flame from under,
Off with one hell of a roar!
We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!
Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force!

Minds of men fashioned a crate of thunder,
Sent it high into the blue;
Hands of men blasted the world asunder;
How they lived God only knew! (God only knew then!)
Souls of men dreaming of skies to conquer
Gave us wings, ever to soar!
With scouts before And bombers galore. Hey!
Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force!

Bridge: "A Toast to the Host"

Here's a toast to the host
Of those who love the vastness of the sky,
To a friend we send a message of his brother men who fly.
We drink to those who gave their all of old,
Then down they soared to score the rainbow's pot of gold.
A toast to the host of men we boast, the U.S. Air Force!

Zoom!

Off we go into the wild sky yonder,
Keep the wings level and true;
If you'd live to be a grey-haired wonder
Keep the nose out of the blue! (Out of the blue, boy!)
Flying men, guarding the nation's border,
We'll be there, followed by more!
In echelon we carry on. Hey!
Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force!

Performance of the song

Most commonly only the first verse is performed, though in professional performances all four verses may be presented. The third verse ("Here's a toast...") has a different melody, and a more reverent mood than the rest of the song to commemorate those who have fallen in the service of the Air Force and the United States. This verse is sometimes performed independently of the other verses.

The first verse of the song is used as the fight song for the United States Air Force Academy. It is also sung by all the flights, in unison, at the beginning of the duty day at Air Force basic training. The third verse of the song is sung by itself as the Academy's alma mater at football games (most notably after games against rivals Army and Navy) and is also sung by Academy cadets and graduates to honor the passing of a fellow cadet or graduate.

Contemporary sheet music contained a footnote advising the substitution of "terrible roar" for "hell of a roar", for radio performances, in accordance with public airwaves rules of the day. "Hell of a roar" is heard much more often nowadays, in the more relaxed modern standards of decorum.

References

• Air Force music home page
• Short story of the song Broken link
• Detailed article
• Lyrics

See also

• Anchors Aweigh
• The Army Goes Rolling Along
• Eternal Father, Strong to Save
• Marines' hymn
• Semper Paratus (march)
• Royal Air Force March Past

Patriotic music of the United States

Image:Flag of the United States.svg

"America the Beautiful" • "Ballad of the Green Berets" • "Battle Cry of Freedom" • "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" • "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean" • "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" • "For The Dear Old Flag, I Die" • "God Bless America" • "God Bless the USA" • "Hail, Columbia" • "Hail to the Chief" • "The Liberty Bell" • "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" • "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" • "Over There" • "PT-109" • "Stars and Stripes Forever" • "The Star-Spangled Banner" • "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving" • "This is My Country" • "This Land Is Your Land" • "Yankee Doodle" • "The Yankee Doodle Boy" • "You're a Grand Old Flag" • "Fifty Nifty United States" • "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" Armed services: "The Army Goes Rolling Along" • "Anchors Aweigh" • "The U.S. Air Force" • "Marines' hymn" • "Semper Paratus"

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