Yellow Bird | Military Cadence
(Lyrics & History)
The US military has a long-standing tradition of singing while marching, dating back to World War II. The Army introduced the custom of calling cadence or singing "jodies" in 1944, and it has since become a fundamental part of training, PT, and drill across all branches. The style of singing originated from African work songs, which were brought to the military by PVT Willie Lee Duckworth, a black soldier from Georgia who used the call-and-response style to motivate his fellow soldiers after long days of work.
Over time, cadences have developed to incorporate a jarring and borderline objectionable theme. Some of these offensive and/or violent-natured jodies are an integral part of a service member's adapting to the nature of their new work. "Yellow Bird," in all its comical violence, has become a classic within military culture. There are two versions below - the recorded version (clean) and the classic version, which I chose not to record. I do not condone the lyrics... Just documenting them. Don't judge me too hard
Lyrics
(Clean Version)
A yellow bird
With a yellow bill
Sat upon
My window sill
​
I lured him in
With a piece of bread
And then I smashed
His little head
A tiny mouse
With tiny feet
Sat upon
My toilet seat
​
I pushed him in
And I flushed him down
And that little mouse
Went round and round
I called the doc
And the doctor said
That little bird
Is freaking dead
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(Traditional Version)
A yellow bird
With a yellow bill
Sat upon
My window sill
​
I lured him in
With a piece of bread
And then I smashed
His f***ing head
A tiny mouse
With tiny feet
Sat upon
My toilet seat
​
I pushed him in
And I flushed him down
And that little mouse
Went round and round
I called the doc
And the doctor said
That little bird
Is freaking dead
​
The moral of
The story is
If you want some head
You need some bread
Listen to this cadence:
Song Name: Yellow Bird
Album Name: Cadences Volume 2
by Jonathan Michael Fleming
DISCLAIMERS:
​
The lyrics and music to the above cadence are not original to me. To the best of my knowledge, the song is in the public domain, as the author is unknown and has simply been handed down generation-to-generation within the US military.
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The views and opinions presented herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its Components. Appearance of, or reference to, any commercial products or services does not constitute DoD endorsement of those products or services. The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute DoD endorsement of the linked websites, or the information, products or services therein.