"I've served my time in Hell"

[Jonathan Lighter]

The Lomax & Lomax text (pp.552-554) came "from C. E. Anson, Wyoming." It consists of four stanzas taken from Camp's 1917 text. (Camp is not cited as author). The final lines in this case are,

Then St. Peter'll tell the angels
How we charged and how we fell;
"Give a front seat to Third Wyoming,
For they've done their hitch in hell."

According to _History of the Wyoming Army National Guard by CW2 John Listman_ [http://www.guardmuster.org/custom/wyoming.asp]


   The First Wyoming experienced a number of reorganizations so that by 1915 its lineage was carried by the 1st and 2nd Separate Battalions, Wyoming Infantry. Both battalions activated during the Mexican border crisis of 1916-17. They served in Deming, New Mexico.



   Upon release from active duty, the two battalions added a third, and was [sic: JL]reorganized as the 3rd Wyoming Infantry. Drafted into Federal service in August 1917 for World War I duty. The Third Wyoming is broken up with elements assigned to three different units within the 41st division.

Upon arrival in France, the 41st Division AEF became the "1st Depot Division," responsible for the training and processing of replacements.

JL

Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
Well, Fred, it's time to turn in the old brain.  I have unearthed my photocopy of Camp's _Mexican Border Ballads_, and not only do I have your word to lean on, I see a note in my personal handwriting saying "Does _not_ contain 'Our Hitch in Hell.'"

I apologize for the bum steer.

The reference to the Third Wyoming should be in the text printed anonymously in Lomax & Lomax, _American Ballads & Folksongs_ (1934), which I haven't been able to dig out yet.  Obviously, this could be a false memory as well, so I'll say no more about it, especially since a 1934 text is unlikely to be of any use to you.

Altogether, this has been a chastening experience.

At least we have the 1917 version, yes?

Jon

Fred Shapiro <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Fred Shapiro
Subject: Re: "I've served my time in Hell"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Sat, 7 May 2005, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> "Our Hitch in Hell." The author was Frank B. [Bernard] Camp (1882 -
> ?1967), and the poem appeared in his collection, _Mexican Border
> Ballads_ (Douglas, Ariz.: F. B. Camp, 1916). It was revised and
> reprinted in Camp's _American Soldier Ballads_ (L.A.: G. Rice & Sons,
> 1917). A Google search reveals that it was more than once adapted and
> passed on anonymously.

I have just obtained a photocopy of F. B. Camp, Mexican Border Ballads
(1916). In quickly looking through this I do not see "Our Hitch in Hell"
or anything resembling it in that book, assuming that all the pages were
photocopied properly. Is it possible that the above is mistaken?

Fred


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred R. Shapiro Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
Access and Lecturer in Legal Research Yale University Press,
Yale Law School forthcoming
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu http://quotationdictionary.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

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