SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON
CHORUS
Far away, Far away,
She wore it for her paratrooper who was far, far away.
Around her neck(leg,thigh) she wore a yellow ribbon.
She wore it in the Springtime, andthe merry month of May.
And if you ask her why the hell she wore it;
She wore it for her ‘trooper who is far, far away.
Behind his door her Daddy keeps a shotgun.
He keeps it in the Sringtime, and the merry month of May.
And when you ask him why the hell he keeps it;
He keeps it for her ‘trooper who is far, far away.
Around the block she pushed a baby buggy,(etc)
She pushed it for her trooper who was far, far away
Back in Camp he put in for overseas duty----
He put in for overseas duty to be far, far away.
Around her neck (leg, thigh) she wore a black silk ribbon.
She wore it for her paratrooper who died far away.
This song was learned it jumpschool--without the last verse--I only heard that after I got to Vietnam. We all realized what our service entailed, but Isuspect our Sgts didn’t want to ‘slap us in the face’ with it while we were in training.
In American military traditions this song dates back to the Civil War, at least. It is part of the ‘All around my Hat’ family of songs found in both England and Ireland.