This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
When I was mustered out
I thought without a doubt
That I was through with all my care and strife
I thought that I was then
The happiest of men
But after months of tough civilian life
Gee, I wish I was back in the Army
The Army wasn't really bad at all
Three meals a day
For which you didn't pay
Uniforms for winter, spring and fall
There's a lot to be said for the Army
The life without responsibility
A soldier out of luck
Was really never stuck
There's always someone higher up where you can pass the buck
Oh, gee, I wish I was back in the Army
Gee, I wish I was back in the Army
The Army was the place to find romance
Soldiers and WACS
The WACS who dressed in slacks
Dancing cheek to cheek and pants to pants
There's a lot to be said for the Army
A gal was never lost for company
A million handsome guys
With longing in their eyes
And all you had to do was pick the age, the weight, the size
Oh, gee, I wish I was back in the Army
Gee, I wish I was back in the Army
The shows we got civilians couldn't see
How we would yell for Dietrich and Cornell
Jolson, Hope and Benny all for free
[Alternate line from sheet music:
Crosby, Hope and Jolson all for free]
There's a lot to be said for the Army
The best of doctors watched you carefully
A dentist and a clerk
For weeks and weeks they'd work
They'd make a thousand dollar job and give it to a jerk
Oh, gee, I wish I was back in the Army
Three meals a day
For which you didn't pay
A million handsome guys
With longing in their eyes
I thought that I was through with all my care and strife
But after months and months of tough civilian life
Oh, gee
I wish I was back in the Army now
I thought without a doubt
That I was through with all my care and strife
I thought that I was then
The happiest of men
But after months of tough civilian life
Gee, I wish I was back in the Army
The Army wasn't really bad at all
Three meals a day
For which you didn't pay
Uniforms for winter, spring and fall
There's a lot to be said for the Army
The life without responsibility
A soldier out of luck
Was really never stuck
There's always someone higher up where you can pass the buck
Oh, gee, I wish I was back in the Army
Gee, I wish I was back in the Army
The Army was the place to find romance
Soldiers and WACS
The WACS who dressed in slacks
Dancing cheek to cheek and pants to pants
There's a lot to be said for the Army
A gal was never lost for company
A million handsome guys
With longing in their eyes
And all you had to do was pick the age, the weight, the size
Oh, gee, I wish I was back in the Army
Gee, I wish I was back in the Army
The shows we got civilians couldn't see
How we would yell for Dietrich and Cornell
Jolson, Hope and Benny all for free
[Alternate line from sheet music:
Crosby, Hope and Jolson all for free]
There's a lot to be said for the Army
The best of doctors watched you carefully
A dentist and a clerk
For weeks and weeks they'd work
They'd make a thousand dollar job and give it to a jerk
Oh, gee, I wish I was back in the Army
Three meals a day
For which you didn't pay
A million handsome guys
With longing in their eyes
I thought that I was through with all my care and strife
But after months and months of tough civilian life
Oh, gee
I wish I was back in the Army now
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army Lyrics as written by Irving Berlin
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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