"The Quartermaster's Store" is a traditional song from England. It is Roud Folk Song Index no. 10508.[1] The origins of both tune and words are uncertain. It was sung by British and ANZAC soldiers during World War I,[2][3][4] but may be an older song of the prewar British regular army,[3] or even have origins dating back to the English Civil War in the 17th century.[4] In those World War I armies, the quartermaster's department was responsible for stores and supplies. The song lists its supposed characteristics, many of them slovenly or unhygienic. The song was known in the United States by the 1930s; it was sung by the Lincoln Battalion, a unit of American volunteers who fought on the republican side in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39).[5] During World War II, the song was popular in the RAF as well as the Army.[6][7][8] The song is also known as The Quartermaster Corps or The Quartermaster's Corps.
The song has gained wide popularity outside the military sphere, particularly as a campfire song in the Scouting and Guiding movements.[4][9][10][11] The Barmy Army, supporters of the England cricket team, have been known to sing about England international cricketers Stuart Broad and his father Chris to the tune of "The Quartermaster's Store".[12]
As is common in oral tradition, the words vary widely; and it being a list song, there have been many verses. The military versions are often earthier than those intended for children or teenagers. Two typical military verses are:[13]
There were rats, rats, big as bloody cats,
In the store, in the store.
There were rats, rats, big as bloody cats,
In the Quartermaster's store.
[Chorus] My eyes are dim, I cannot see,
I have not brought my specs with me,
I have not brought my specs with me.
There was beer, beer, to bring us all good cheer,
In the store, in the store.
There was beer, beer, to bring us all good cheer,
In the Quartermaster's store.
Other popular verse lines include
There were snakes, snakes, snakes, as long as garden rakes
and
There were chips, chips, as big as battleships
and
There was gravy, gravy, enough to float the Navy
[Chorus]
The song has been recorded several times:
- c. 1939 – Murgatroyd and Winterbottom (Tommy Handley and Ronald Frankau), British comedians, as a novelty song[14]
- 1940s – Pete Seeger, American folksinger[5]
- 1959? – Les Cleveland and the D-Day Dodgers, New Zealand[15][16]
- 1960 – The Shadows, British instrumental band, as the B-side of the No. 1 single "Apache"; Columbia DB4484[17]
- 1964 – Burl Ives, American singer, on the album Scouting Along with Burl Ives
- 1979 – Raffi, Canadian singer-lyricist, on the album The Corner Grocery Store, as "The Corner Grocery Store"
- 1985 – The Band of the Royal Corps of Signals, as an item in a musical medley[18]
- Other recordings have been made[4]
References
- ^ "Quartermaster Song". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
- ^ Fahey, Warren (7 August 2014). "ANZAC Mythology: Army Songs Are Part of Our Digger Tradition". warrenfahey.com.au. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ a b Featherstone, Simon (2 February 1995). War Poetry: An Introductory Reader. Routledge. p. 45. ISBN 978-0415095709. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d "The Quartermaster's Stores". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Songs of the Spanish Civil War, Vol. 1: Songs of the Lincoln Brigade, Six Songs for Democracy". Smithsonian Folkways. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ Bennett, Harold (1 December 2000). Bawdy Ballads & Dirty Ditties of the Wartime RAF. Woodfield Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1873203699.
- ^ ritsonvaljos (29 December 2005). "'In the Quartermaster's Stores': 'Bish' Burney and Matt Devlin". BBC. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ Brislan, Patrick; Amadio, Leonard (17 December 2014). "Professor John Bishop (1903-1964)". Australian Youth Orchestra. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Quartermaster's Store Song". Boy Scout Trail. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ "The Quartermaster's Song". Scout Songs. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ "Quartermaster's Store". Girl Guides of Canada. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ Winslow, Paul (8 November 2012). Songs From the Barmy Army. Simon & Schuster UK. ISBN 978-1849836739. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ "War Poems and Songs". countydown.x10.mx. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "The Day War Broke Out". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ Les Cleveland and the D-Day Dodgers. "The songs we sang [sound recording] : N.Z. folklore in World War 2". National Library of New Zealand. 1959?. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "More Songs We Sang (1959)". horntip.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "The Shadows". 45-rpm.org.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ "The Royal Corps of Signals 1982-2017" (PDF). International Military Music Society United Kingdom Founder Branch (114). Winter 2017. ISSN 2050-4926.