WASP
Songbook
ZOOT-SUITS AND PARACHUTES
Before I was a member of the AAFTD
I was a working girl in Washington, D. C.
My "boss he was unkind to me, he worked me night & day
I Blways had the time to work but never time to play*
CHORUS
' Singing zootsuits and parachutes and wings of silver, too
He'l ferry airplanes as his mama used to do.
A long came a pilot, ferrying a plane,
He asked me to go fly with him down in loversf lane
And I, like a silly fool, thinking it no harm
Cuddled in the cockpit to keep the pilot warm*
CHoWs
Early in the morning before the break of day
He handed me a short-snort bill and this I heard him say
Take this, my darling, for the damage I have done,
For y©u may have a daughter or you may have a sonf
If you have a daughter, teach her how to fly,
If you have a son, put the (censored) in the sky.
CHORUS
The moral of this story as you can plainly see
Is never trust a pilot an inch above the knee.
He'll kiss you and caress you, and promise to be true
And have a girl at every field as all the pilots do.
CHORUS
Tune - "Bell Bottom Trousersn
SHOW ME
Show me a Scotchman who doesn't love a thistle,
Show me an Irishman who doesn't love a rose,
Show me the true heart of every Pifinella
Who doesn't love the spot (gesture, thump - thump)
Where her silver wings go-o-o-o.
2
I'M A FLYING WRECK
I'm a flying wreck, a friskin! my neck & a helluva
pilot too!
A helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva p$lot too
Like all the jolly good flyers, the gremlins treat me
mean
I'm a flyin' wreck, a'riskin' my neck for the good ole
318!
If I had a PT sir, I'd paint it blue and gold.
I'd take it up 5000 feet and make the damned thing roll
Oh, if I had a PT, sir, I'd fly it off in the sky,
I'd circle over Germany & spit in the Fuehrer's eye!.
If I had a civilian check, I'll tell you what I!d do,
I'd pop the stick & break his neck & probably get a U,
If I had an Army ride, I!d take off without any flaps.
And show him that an easier job would be over fighting
Japs!
When the general comes, sir, to view us in our drill.
We'll do a four winds march, sir, & check out o'er the
hill,
And when he call "Attention!", we'll click our heels
and yell,
I'm just a raw civilian, sir, and you can go to hell!
And when the course is over, we won't be good at all,
We'll dine and date in every state & bathe in alcohol!
And when vacation is over, of course we'll all be late
It'll take 6 months of LaRue's stuff to get us back in
shape!
Tune - "I'm A Rambling Wreck"
I WANNA BE A MISS H.P.
I wanna be a Miss H.P.
H'mmmmmmm and a little bit more.
I wanna be a WASP trainee
H'mmmmmmm and a little bit more.
I wanna be a graduate, and then I'll ask no more.
For I'll have all that's coming to me.
H'mmmmmmm and a little bit •—-o
H'mmmmmmmm and a little bit .*r. ^
H'mmmmmmmm and a little bit more!
Tune - "I Wanna Be a Brother"
3
GOINT BACK TO WHERE I COME FROM
I'm goin' back to where I come from
Where the honeysuckle smells so sweet it darn neer
makes you sick.
I usta think my life was hum-drum, but I sure have
learned a lesson that is bound to stick.
There ain't no use in my pretending but the city just
ain't no place for a gal like me to end in.
I usta go - down to the station every morning just to
watch that pullman train come rollin' in,
And then one night that great temptation got the best
of me and led me to a life of sin.
I took my hat and fourteen dollars and I went to all
the trouble of a life that always follers
When you're rich and huntin' romance? but my huntin*
days are over I can tell you this.
(nasal) DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW
I met a man in Kansas City who winked at me and asked
me would I like to step around,
And I said "sure, that's what I'm here forM, so he
said he'd take me to the hottest spots in town*
He mentioned things he'd have to fix up so he took my
fourteen dollars, but there* must have been a mixup
He's been gone since Thursday evening and I've got a
hunch I'll never see that guy no more.
DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW
I'm goin' back to where I come from
Where the mocking bird is singing in the lilac bush.
DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW
When I grow old and have a grandson I'll tell him
'bout my romance and just watch his eyes bug out,
But chances are he won't believe me and he'll do the
same dern thing when he grows up, no doubt.
But he can't say I didn't warn him what'11 happen if
he meets up with that city guy, goldarn him!
Goin' back to where I come from
Where the mocking bird is singing in the lilac bush.
DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW
(softly) DEW DEW DEW DEft DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW.
( Sv/eetwater version)
I crawled away from every check ride, hurdled all the
tees and stages, got with instruments & gages.
EONs were mighty pleasant and our navigating efforts
were a sight to see.
DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DM DEW DEW
There ain't no use in my pretendin'
That the Army is the proper place for a gal like to
end in. Goih1 back to where I come 'from,
But I!ll have silver wings and Santiago Blues.
DEW DEW DEW DEI// DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW
(softly) DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW DEW
RUGGED BUT RIGHT
I just called up to tell you that Ifm rugged but right
A rambling woman, a gambling woman, drunk every night.
A porterhouse steak three times a day for my board,
That's more than any decent gal in town can afford!
I've got a big electric fan to keep me cool while I eat,
A tall & handsome man to keep me warm while I sleep!
I'm a rambling woman, a gambling woman and boy an I tight.
I just called up to tell you that I'm rugged but right.
HO HO HO Rugged but right!
We may be tan-skinned lassies but what do we care,
We've got those well-built chassis and that take it or
leave it air,
We've got the hips that sank the ships of England,
France, and Peru,
And if you're like Napoleon, then it's your Waterloo.
I'll take a fifteen minute intermission in your. V-8
I'd like to make it longer but I've got a late date,
My motto has always been "gone with the wind",
So let's breeze it tonight.
I just called up to tell you that I'm rugged but right.
HO HO HO Rugged but right!
5
AMY AlJti CORPS SONG
Off we go into the wild Mue yonder,
Climbing high into the sun;
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder.
At 'em boys! Give fer the gun! Give 'er the gun!
Down we dive spouting our flames from under,
Off with one helluva roar.
We live in fame, go down in flames,
Nothing111 stop the Army Air Corps!
Here's a toast to the host of those who love the
vastness of the sky;
To a friend we will send a message of his brother
men who fly*
We drink to those who gave their all of old,
Then down we roar to scote the rainbow^ pot of
gold.
A toast to the host of men we boast, the Army Air
Corps.
Off we go into the wild biue yonder,
Keep the wings level and true*
If you*d live to be a gray-haired wonder,
Keep the nose out of the blue!
Plying men guarding the nation*s border,
We'll be there followed by more.
In echelon we carry on,
Nothing'11 stop the Air Corps now!
A WASP TRAINEE AM I (Home on the Range)
Oh, Ifm far from home
Yrtiere the wild Texans roam,
Where the snakes and tarantulas play,
Where seldom is heard
An encouraging word
And we never have time to make hay.
CHORUS:
A WASP trainee am I
All sunburned and dusty and dry,
There's no time to play,
They work us all day,
Volunteers, but we'll never know why!