Blood on the Risers

"Blood on the Risers" is an American paratrooper song from World War II. It is sung by the United States 82nd Airborne Division, the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the United States 101st Airborne Division. This song has been featured on the television mineseries Band of Brothers and the video game Brothers in Arms. Sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", the song tells of the final jump of a paratrooper whose parachute does not work. This results in him falling to his death.

Members of the United States military who attend the United States Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia are often required to memorize the lyrics as part of their initiation.

Lyrics

He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright

He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight;

He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,

"You ain't gonna jump no more!"

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

He ain't gonna jump no more!

"Is everybody happy?" cried the Sergeant looking up,

Our Hero feebly answered "Yes," and then they stood him up;

He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

He ain't gonna jump no more!

He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock,

He felt the winds, he felt the clouds, he felt the awful drop,

He yanked the chord, the silk spilled out and wrapped around his legs,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

He ain't gonna jump no more!

The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome,

Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones;

The canopy became his shroud; he hurtled to the ground.

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

He ain't gonna jump no more!

The days he'd lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind,

He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind;

He thought about the medicals and wondered what they'd find,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

He ain't gonna jump no more!

The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild,

The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled,

For it had been a week or more since last a 'chute had failed,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

He ain't gonna jump no more!

He hit the ground, the sound was "Splat!," his blood went spurting high,

His comrades then were heard to say: "A hell of a way to die!"

He lay there rolling round in the welter of his gore,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

He ain't gonna jump no more!

(slowly, solemnly)

There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,

Intestines were a'dangling from his Paratrooper suit,

They picked him up, and poured him from his boots,

And he ain't gonna jump no more

Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

He ain't gonna jump no more!

The chorus can also be sung in this 'uncensored' version:

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die

With a rifle up your ass and a bullet in your eye

Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die

When your balls hang lower then your paratrooper boots

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die

With a rifle in your hand, and you're falling through the sky

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die

He ain't gonna jump no more!

The final chorus is (rarely) changed alternately to:

(solemly sing)

They placed him in a blanket, then they laid his soul to rest

They notified his next of kin; his funeral was the best

And on his monument of stone they scribed this little verse:

He ain't gonna jump no more

Gory, Gory, what a helluva way to die

Gory, Gory, what a helluva way to die

Gory, Gory, what a helluva way to die

He ain't, gonna jump, no more...

Or:

Beautiful streamer please open for me

Blue skies above me and no canopy

I counted ten thousand, waited too long

Reached for my ripcord and the handle was gone

Gory, Gory, what a helluva way to die

Gory, Gory, what a helluva way to die

Gory, Gory, what a helluva way to die

He ain't, gonna jump, no more...

External links

• Lyrics of the Song
• Blood on the Risers