Blood on the Risers

"Blood Upon the Risers" is an American paratrooper song from World War II. It is sung by the United States 82nd Airborne Division, the United States 101st Airborne Division, the 173rd Airborne Brigade and 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) of the 25th Infantry Division, and the 120th CTS (United States). This song has been featured on the television miniseries Band of Brothers and the video game Brothers in Arms. Sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", the song tells of the final jump of a paratrooper whose parachute does not work. This results in him falling to his death.

Members of the United States military who attend the United States Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia are sometimes required to memorize the lyrics as part of their training.

Lyrics

Chorus Confusion

It is disputed as to whether the chorus says "Gory, Gory," "Gory, Glory," or "Glory, Glory," like the original "Battle Hymn of The Republic."^{[citation needed]} Since the song is often sung at a shout, it is hard to distinguish whether there is in fact an "L" sound when it is sung. Most likely, however, it should be "Gory" due to the relation the word has with the rest of the song(being about a paratrooper in training with two faulty chutes).

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He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright,

He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight;

He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,

"You ain't gonna jump no more!"

(CHORUS)

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a 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 jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked,

And 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 cold, he felt the awful drop,

The silk from his reserve spilled out and wrapped around his legs,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

(CHORUS)

The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome,

Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones;

The canopy became his shroud; he hurtled to the ground.

And 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,

And 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, rolled up their sleeves and smiled,

For it had been a week or more since last a 'chute had failed,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

(CHORUS)

He hit the ground, the sound was "SPLAT" his blood went spurting high,

His comrades were all heard to say "A hell of a way to die!"

He lay there rolling round in the welter of his gore,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

(CHORUS)

(slowly, solemnly; about half the speed of the other verses)

There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,

Intestines were a'dangling from his Paratrooper suit,

He was a mess, they picked him up and poured him from his boots,

And he ain't gonna jump no more

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

And he ain't gonna jump no more!

External links

• Blood on the Risers
• Men of Easy Company's official lyrics