Military cadence
In the armed services, a military cadence or cadence call is a traditional call-and-response work song sung by military personnel while running or marching. In the United States, these cadences are sometimes called jody calls or jodies, after "Jody", a recurring character who figures in some traditional cadences; Jody refers to the man with whom a serviceman's wife/girlfriend cheats while he is deployed. Requiring no instruments to play, they are counterparts in oral military folklore of the military march. As a sort of work song, military cadences take their rhythms from the work being  done (compare "sea shanty"). Many cadences have a call and response structure of which one soldier initiates a line, and the remaining soldiers complete it, thus instilling teamwork and camaraderie for completion. The cadence calls move to the beat and rhythm of the normal speed (quick time) march or running-in-formation (double time) march. This serves the purpose of keeping soldiers "dressed", moving in step as a unit and in formation, while maintaining the correct beat or cadence. On top of the psychological effects that cadences produce, they also produce significant physiological effects. Singing a cadence while running or  marching helps soldiers keep their heads up, take deeper breathes and exhale more forcefully. This increases oxygen to the lungs and gives the body more energy. This in turn makes the unit healthier and better prepared. The word "cadence" was applied to these work songs because of an earlier meaning, in which it meant the number of steps a marcher or runner took per minute. The cadence was set by a drummer or sergeant and discipline was extremely important, as keeping the cadence directly affected the travel speed of infantry. There were other purposes: the "close-order drill" was a  particular cadence count for the complex sequence of loading and firing a musket. In the Revolutionary War, Baron von Steuben notably imported European battlefield techniques which persist, greatly modified, to this day. Section::::"The Duckworth Chant" (or "Sound Off!"). A V-Disc issued in 1944 credits the origin of "Sound Off" ("The Duckworth Chant") to Private Willie Lee Duckworth of Sandersville, Georgia, an African American soldier serving in the United States Army. This original cadence was recorded as "Sound Off": This cadence, known as the "Duckworth Chant," still exists with variations in the different branches of the U.S. military. Duckworth's  simple chant was elaborated on by Army drill sergeants and their trainees, and the practice of creating elaborate marching chants spread to the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy. A musical version of the chant was recorded by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra (Voc.: Vaughn Monroe & Chorus in New York City) on March 7, 1951. It was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-4113A (in USA) and by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10086. A variant of that cadence was used in the 1949 movie "Battleground" and in the 1981  movie "Taps", filmed at Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It appears in two versions in the film, both ending in the same cadence. Collected cadences. Some common cadences include: As soon as 1952, the U.S. Army adopted "The Army Goes Rolling Along" as its service theme song, with the lyric "count off the cadence loud and strong" a reference to Duckworth's cadence. Its melody and lyrics derive from the traditional "When the Caissons Go Rolling Along". The United States Marine Corps and US Naval Academy use a modified version of the Old King Cole lyrics , referencing Chesty Puller: "Chesty Puller was a good Marine and a good Marine was he". Section::::"Jody calls". In the United States, what are now known as cadences were called "jody calls" or "jody" (also "jodie") from a recurring character, a civilian named "Jody", whose luxurious lifestyle is contrasted with military deprivations in a number of traditional calls. The mythical Jody refers to a civilian who remains at home instead of joining the military service. Jody is often presumed to be medically unfit for service, a 4F in WWII parlance. Jody also lacks the desirable attributes of military men. He is  neither brave nor squared-away. Jody calls often make points with ironic humor. Jody will take advantage of a service member's girlfriend in the service member's absence. Jody stays at home, drives the soldier's car, and gets the soldier's sweetheart (often called "Susie") while the soldier is in boot camp or in country. An R-&-B example of the folkloric Jody character is the 1970 hit single from Johnny Taylor, "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone". Another is the poem "Black Soldier" by the Last Poets on their 1972 album "Chastisement". The name derives from a  stock character in African-American oral traditions, "Joe the Grinder". The character's name has been transcribed as "Joady", "Jody", "Jodie", "Joe D." or even "Joe the ____" (in dialect, "Joe de ____"), with Joe then identified by occupation. He was a stock villain who maliciously took advantage of another man's absence. Enlisted African-American soldiers incorporated this character into cadence songs during the Second World War. Lineberry emphasizes conflicting uses of the calls: they are useful to command, in that they serve as instruments to psychologically detach the soldier from home-life, and to inculcate a useful degree of aggression . They are useful to the soldier, who can vent dissatisfaction without taking individual responsibility for the expression. While jodies, strictly speaking, are folklore (they are not taught institutionally, and do not appear, for example, in FM 3-21.5, "Drill and Ceremonies Field Manual"), some are tolerated and even encouraged by leadership, while others are subversive. Common themes in jodies include: Lineberry offers an alternative, psychologically and functionally oriented taxonomy. There are negative themes (disrespect expressed for deities, women, homosexuals, the enemy and economically deprived comrades; graphic expression of violence perpetrated on women and the enemy, glorification of substance abuse) but  also positive (unit pride, encouragement of comrades) and perhaps in-between, expressions of contempt for death and indifference to mortality. One example used in the U.S. Army: Some from the U.S. Marine Corps: In the first and last scenes of the 1949 movie "Battleground", the cadence sung is as follows, with the call initiated by the platoon sergeant (played by James Whitmore) and the "response" from the rest of the platoon: You had a good home but you left / "You're right" You had a good home but you left / "You're right" Jody was there when you left / "You 're right" Your baby was there when you left / "You're right" Sound off! / "1,2" Sound off! / "3,4" Cadence count! / "1,2,3,4,1,2 ... 3,4!" They signed you up for the length of the war / The best you'll get in a biv-ou-ac / Sound off! / "1,2" Sound off! / "3,4" Cadence count! / "1,2,3,4,1,2 ... 3,4!" There ain't no use in going back / Jody's got somethin' you ain't got / Sound off! / "1,2" Sound off! / "3,4" Cadence count! / "1,2,3,4,1,2 ... 3,4!" Your baby was lonely, as lonely could be / Ain't it great to have a pal / Sound off! / "1,2" Sound off! / "3,4  Cadence count! / 1,2,3,4,1,2 ... 3,4!" You ain't got nothin' to worry about / An' you won't get home til the end of the war / Sound off! / "1,2" Sound off! / "3,4" Cadence count! / "1,2,3,4,1,2 ... 3,4!" Reverent. Reverent calls are an effort by personnel in armed forces to rebuild the tradition of oratory recounting of military history in the convention of cadences. The effect this instills is a greater reverence in the squad performing and for the force whose story is retold in honorable PT (Physical Training). Each branch of an armed force has its stories, and an example of the base  used is the 75th Ranger Regiment (Infantry's "Airborne Ranger") in which references to WWII for example are included to complement the story. Comedic. Comedic calls are often born of reverent calls but sung for comedic value using clean calls, pop-culture references, and jokes to make PT more fun and entertaining. A popular example from the film "Stripes" was "Why did the chicken cross the road?" "To get from the left to the right." "Stepped out of rank, got hit by a tank." "He ain't a chicken no more." Prior to women being commonplace in Army ranks, sexist  comedic cadences were more prevalent. Example: And so on. Birdy, Birdy in the sky Dropped a whitewash in my eyes I'm no wimp, I don't cry I'm just glad that cows don't fly Superman was the man of steel, but he aint no match for a Navy Seal. Chief and Supe got in a fight; Chief hit Supe with kryptonite. Supe fell to his knees in pain. Now Chief's dating Lois Lane Well Chief and Batman had one too, Chief hit him in the head with his shoe. Hit him in the temple with  his left heel, Now Chief's driving the Batmobile. Controversial. Obscene, scatological, or controversial jody calls exist, and were typical, especially during and before the Vietnam War. The use of such calls is now discouraged by the US military, which instead emphasizes "clean" versions of traditional jodies. The flexibility of jodies is nearly unlimited, and old jodies have always been revived or rewritten as times and wars change. Airborne Ranger: An alternate from Fort Dix circa 1981. D.I. calls it out, soldiers repeat it back. My Drill Instructor An example of one such call is the first stanza of "Yellow  Bird": In the last line, the word 'little' is frequently used to replace profanity. This is an example of the minor tweaks that frequently occur in cadences depending on the particular military unit or installation they are used at. A particular cadence, when used by an infantry or other combat arms unit may include explicit profanity, while the same cadence, when used by a training or medical unit, or especially if officers are present, may be censored to a degree, as above. The second verse to the preceding cadence: One from the U.S. Navy: An excerpt from the popular "When  I Go to Heaven", also known as "How'd Ya Earn Your Living" or "When I Get to Heaven" Another, more modern example of a controversial cadence popular through the US Navy: The Marine cadence "I Went to the Market" is another vulgar cadence. Another closely related is as followed. The popular Cold War era jodie "On the Mountain" is also fairly controversial, especially in noncombatant outfits and among cadet groups. The following verses are from "Napalm Sticks to Kids." One of the cadences of Vietnam, its use by the U.S. military created controversy about the theme. The messages chanted  by recruits may depict brutal treatment of civilians and the themes even suggest that troops might kill civilians gathered in public areas. Non-military cadences. Police. Police personnel who train in para-military fashion also have acquired the tradition for its recruits in the police academy. However, the "lyrics" are changed for law enforcement, for example: Fire academy. Fire academies in the U.S. often train in a para-military style. The following is a common cadence heard in the Fire Academy (Originally by the Marines)