Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

Gee, Mom, I Want to Go Home

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Released
  
1944 (1944)

Length
  
1:48

Genre
  
Novelty song

Writer(s)
  
Traditional, Gitz Rice credited

"Gee, Mom, I Want to Go Home" (also known as "I Don't Want No More of Army Life") is a traditional, humorous song satirizing life in the Armed Forces. Each verse has two lines relating what recruits are told, followed by an exaggerated description of the fact. For example:

The biscuits in the Army They say are mighty fine, One rolled off the table And killed a pal of mine.

The original song was sung by Canadian soldiers during World War II. With original chorus

"Oh, I don't want no more of army life Gee ma, I wanna go back to Ontario Gee ma, I wanna go ho_o_ome!"

The song occurs in several variations, the lyrics being adapted for the different branches of the Armed Forces, and it has been transformed into a camp song as well.

  • The song appeared in the 1943 play Winged Victory by Moss Hart.
  • Folk singer Lead Belly performed the song (as "Gee, But I Want to Go Home" or "Army Life" ) on several 1940s recordings.
  • The song was released as a single, titled "I Don't Want No More of Army Life", in 1950 by Texas Jim Robertson
  • The song was performed in the 1977 M*A*S*H episode "Movie Tonight", in Season 5, with lyrics adapted to the characters and situations in the show.

    • Hawkeye and B.J., Colonel Potter, Klinger, Hotlips, Radar and 4 new nurses all sing a verse each. Franks Burns tries to sing a verse after everyone has finished the song.

  • Manny Singer (Ray Liotta) sings a verse to his despondent daughter shortly after the death of her mother at the beginning of the 1994 film Corrina, Corrina.
  • The song was quoted in the RiffTrax for the 2011 film Thor.

    • References

    Gee, Mom, I Want to Go Home Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA