Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
Analysis by Kyle Horn
The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, as made famous by The Andrews Sisters, is a song placed just before the United States’ entrance into WWII. It tells the story of how a young trumpeter who was the “top man at his craft”was drafted to the army. This young trumpeter or the “Bugle Boy” is brought down by the fact that the army has no use for his talent, and instead has him only play reveille (the wake up call) as supported by the line: “They made him blow a bugle for his Uncle Sam; It really brought him down because he couldn't jam.” This caused the Bugle Boy to become dejected until further into the song where the “Cap” or Captain of the company “drafted a band” to play reveille with the Bugle Boy causing him to be much happier as supported by the line “And now the company jumps when he plays reveille”. The language used in this song is pro war, for the reasons being that it does not attack the war, it uses it as story line for praising this soldier in WWII. As well as this song might be telling the general population about the glory of the war, it as well could be a drafting technique aimed specifically towards musicians, seeing as the army band became a full brass core military marching band during WWII. The rhythm, a 12 bar blues played at a tempo of 140 beats per minute, makes this almost a perfect match for modern swing music at the time, presenting the war in a positive, uplifting manner. Due to the fact that this song is in support of the war, it also is in favor of the foreign policy at the time, being collective security. This song tells a story of one man’s military experience, and the impact it had on him, telling us about the way that war could effect an individual. I agree with the message of this song, in that it does support the war, but not in the obvious sense that others do. I believe that war is a necessary evil, and this song, although not glorifying the war, supports the troops through the upbeat tempo of the song, and attempting to encourage young musicians to join the military bands to play for the troops.
Lyrics
He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way
He had a boogie style that no one else could play He was the top man at his craft But then his number came up and he was gone with the draft He's in the army now, a-blowin' reveille He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B They made him blow a bugle for his Uncle Sam It really brought him down because he couldn't jam The captain seemed to understand Because the next day the cap' went out and drafted a band And now the company jumps when he plays reveille He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B A-toot, a-toot, a-toot-diddelyada-toot He blows it eight-to-the-bar, in boogie rhythm He can't blow a note unless the bass and guitar is playin' with 'I'm He makes the company jump when he plays reveille He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B He was some boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B And when he plays the boogie woogie bugle he was busy as a "bzzz" bee And when he plays he makes the company jump eight-to-the-bar He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B |
Toot toot toot-diddelyada, Toot-diddelyada, toot-toot
He blows it eight-to-the-bar He can't blow a note if the bass and guitar isn't with 'I'm Ha-ha-hand the company jumps when he plays reveille He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B He puts the boys to sleep with boogie every night And wakes 'em up the same way in the early bright They clap their hands and stamp their feet Because they know how he plays when someone gives him a beat He really breaks it up when he plays reveille He's boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B Dat-da da-do-do da-dup Dat-da da-do-do da-dup Dat-da da-do-do da-dup Dat-da da-do-do da-dup Ha-ha-hand the company jumps when he plays reveille He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B |