Blood On The Risers
Analysis by Sierra Marie
“Blood on the Risers” is an American paratrooper song from World War II. This song tells of the final fatal jump of a paratrooper whose parachute fails to deploy, which results in him falling to his death. “Blood on the Risers” utilizes gory language to describe the fall, such as “he hit the ground, the sound was splat, his blood went spurting high,” and provides a glimpse of what war was like from the line, “the medics jumped and screamed with glee, they rolled their sleeves and smiled; for it had been a week or more since last a chute had failed.” This song is anti-war because it depicts war in a dangerous sense and as something that results in the death of many innocent men. The anti-war feeling of this song can also be seen in the way that the characters react with the rookie paratrooper’s death because it illustrates the loss of innocence that all people in war undergo because they witness death all of the time. This song is in critic of the foreign policy at the time, which was collective security, because it is against all aspects of war, and collective security requires the troops to fight as part of an alliance. This song answers the driving questions: what is the cost of war, how does war affect the individual, and how does war affect society. The cost of war portrayed in this song are the innocent lives that are lost. Similar to that, the effect on the individual is that many of their friends die in front of their eyes, and they lose their innocence and are changed because of the gore that they experience. The effect on society as seen in this song is that many families are split apart because fathers and brothers die and therefore, do not return home. I agree with the message of this song that says that war is costly and dangerous because many innocent lives are lost and individuals change a vast amount because of the terrors that they witness.
Lyrics
He was just a cherry trooper and he surely shook with fright as he checked all his equipment and made sure his pack was tight He had to sit and listen to the awful engines roar, And he ain't gonna jump no more. CHORUS: Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die He ain’t gonna jump no more. "Is everybody happy?" cried the Sergeant, looking up. Our hero feebly answered "yes," and then they stood him up. He leaped right out into the blast, his static line unhooked. He ain’t gonna jump no more. CHORUS He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock; He felt the wind, he felt the clouds, he felt the awful drop; He jerked his cord, the silk spilled out and wrapped around his legs. He ain’t gonna jump no more. CHORUS The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome; The lines were snarled and tied in knots, around his skinny bones; The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground. He ain’t gonna jump no more. |
CHORUS The days he’d lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind; He thought about the girl back home, the one he’d left behind; He thought about the medics and wondered what they’d find. He ain’t gonna jump no more. CHORUS The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild; The medics jumped and screamed with glee, they rolled their sleeves and smiled; For it had been a week or more since last a chute had failed. He ain’t gonna jump no more. CHORUS He hit the ground, the sound was splat, his blood went spurting high; His comrades were then heard to say, "A helluve way to die"; He lay there rolling ‘round in the welter of his gore. He ain’t gonna jump no more. CHORUS There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute; Intestines were a-dangling from this paratrooper’s boots; They picked him up, still in his chute and poured him from his boots. He ain’t gonna jump no more. CHORUS |