"Gee, Mom, I Want to Go Home" (also known as "I Don't Want No More of Army Life") is a traditional, humorous song satirizing life in the Armed Forces. Each verse has two lines relating what recruits are told, followed by an exaggerated description of the fact. For example:
| "Army Life" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Lead Belly | |
| Released | 1944 |
| Genre | Novelty song |
| Length | 1:48 |
| Songwriter(s) | Traditional, Gitz Rice credited |
- The biscuits in the Army
- They say are mighty fine,
- One rolled off the table
- And killed a pal of mine.
The original song was sung by Canadian soldiers during World War II.With original chorus
- "Oh, I don't want no more of army life
- Gee ma, I wanna go
- back to Ontario
- Gee ma, I wanna go ho_o_ome!"
The song occurs in several variations, the lyrics being adapted for the different branches of the Armed Forces, and it has been transformed into a camp song as well.[1]
Appearances in popular culture
- The song appeared in the 1943 play Winged Victory by Moss Hart.[2]
- The song, presumably sung by British Commonwealth soldiers, can be heard during "The Desert: North Africa", the eighth episode of the documentary series The World at War.
- Folk singer Lead Belly performed the song (as "Gee, But I Want to Go Home" or "Army Life" [3] ) on several 1940s recordings.
- The song was released as a single, titled "I Don't Want No More of Army Life", in 1950 by Texas Jim Robertson [4]
- The character of Dino Manelli sings two stanzas in issue #58 (Cover date September 1968) of the World War II-set comic book series Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos.
- The song was performed in the 1977 M*A*S*H episode "Movie Tonight" (season 5 episode 22), with lyrics adapted to the characters and situations in the show.[5] Father Mulcahy, Hawkeye and B.J., Colonel Potter, Klinger, Hot Lips, Radar and four of the nurses all sing a verse each. Frank Burns tries to sing a rather hostile verse after everyone has finished the song, but is glared down.
- Manny Singer (Ray Liotta) sings a verse to his despondent daughter shortly after the death of her mother at the beginning of the 1994 film Corrina, Corrina.
- A variant of the song is sung in the 2020 film Monster Hunter.