Praise The Lord & Pass The Ammunition

[Jonathan Lighter]

At this place you'll find the complete lyrics to "The Ballad of Rodger Young," plus a scratchy recording of Nelson Eddy singing the first verse. Be thankful it's only the first.

  http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:yc0azitwX6kJ:www.rienzihills.com/SING/rodgeryoung.htm+%22name+rodger+young%22&hl=en

  Elsewhere you can find a rendition sung from start to finish by the West Point Glee Club. As a dirge. Not recommended.

  Rodger Young's posthumous MOH citation appears here. (In this case, unadorned prose seems to me to be a more effective language than pop music) : http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_1940_wwii/young_rodger.html

  JL
Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Wilson Gray
Subject: Re: Praise The Lord & Pass The Ammunition
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On 12/9/05, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Jonathan Lighter
> Subject: Re: Praise The Lord & Pass The Ammunition
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
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>
> Of course not. The composer was Hollywood songsmith Pfc. Frank Loesser
> (1910-1969) who, according to one source, "wore his GI uniform while he w=
as
> composing it in the [Army] Special Services office on 42nd Street."
>
> Loesser also wrote the wartime song. "Rodger Young," as well as the
> postwar hit, "On a Slow Boat to China."
>
> JL


"Rodger Young" and I are utter strangers. Unfortunately, the same is not
true of "On a Slow Boat to China." I prefer "Praise the Lord..." It's also
the case that I hoped that WWII would last long enough for me to be in it
and thought that "God Is My Co-Pilot" was one of the greatest movies ever
made, second only to "Crashdive." That should give you an idea of my
pre-adolescent tastes and worldview.

Wilson Gray




wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Wilson Gray
> Subject: Re: Praise The Lord & Pass The Ammunition
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
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>
> On 12/7/05, Baker, John wrote:
> >
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender: American Dialect Society
> > Poster: "Baker, John"
> > Subject: Re: Praise The Lord & Pass The Ammunition
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
=3D
> ------
> >
> > The Navy has a page on Commander Forgy at
> > http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-f/h-forgy.htm.
> >
> > John Baker
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behal=
f
> > Of Grant Barrett
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 9:05 PM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Praise The Lord & Pass The Ammunition
> >
> > Barry Popik posted about "praise the Lord and pass the ammunition" in
> > 1999 ().
> >
> > Here's another source attributing the phrase to the same Mr. Forgy:
> >
> >
> >
> > "She owns an autographed copy of Navy Chaplain Howell M. Forgy's memoir=
,
> > '...and Pass the Ammunition'--Forgy coined the phrase 'Praise the Lord
> > and pass the ammunition' during the Pearl Harbor attack."
> >
> > Grant Barrett
> > gbarrett at worldnewyork.org
> > http://www.doubletongued.org/
> >
>
>
> Did he also write the song?
> --
> -Wilson Gray
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
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--
-Wilson Gray




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