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I Wanna Be in the Cavalry Lyrics
lyrics by Corb Lund, music by Stan Rogers / Corb Lund
I wanna be in the cavalry if they send me off to war
I wanna good steed under me like my forefathers before
I wanna good mount when the bugle sounds and I hear the cannons' roar
I wanna be in the cavalry if they send me off to war
I wanna horse in the volunteer force that's riding forth at dawn
Please save for me some gallantry that will echo when I'm gone
I beg of you sarge let me lead the charge when the battle lines are drawn
Lemme at least leave a good hoof beat they'll remember loud and long
I'd not a good foot soldier make, I'd be sour and slow at march
And I'd be sick on a navy ship, and the sea would leave me parched
But I'll be first in line if they'll let me ride, by god, you'll see my starch
Lope back o'er the heath with the laurel wreath underneath that vict?ry arch
Let me earn my spurs in the battle's blur where the day is lost or won
I'll wield my lance as the ponies dance and the blackguards fire their guns
A sabre keen, and a saddle carbine and an army Remington
Where the hot lead screams with the cold, cold steel let me be a cav?lryman
Let 'em play their flutes and stirrup my boots and place them back to front
For I won?t be back on the rider-less black (jack) and I'm finished in my hunt
I wanna be in the cavalry if I must go off to war
I wanna be in the cavalry, but I won't ride home no more
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Love it, it captures that youthful ambition and hunger for glory in the cavalry but it's also not blind to the danger of war and the very real possibility of death.
I don't think the author is being ironic and trying to write a glib anti war protest song. What I get is a celebration of the noble ambition of young soldiers while being aware of the awful danger of their calling.