| Title | Giddy Giddap! Go On! Go On! |
| Alternative Title | Giddy Giddap! |
| Composer | Frost, Jack |
| Lyricist | Frost, Jack |
| Publisher | Frank K. Root & Co. |
| Place of Publication | Chicago (Ill.) |
| Year of Publication | 1917 |
| Date of Copyright | 1917-09-24 |
| Physical Description | 1 score ([1], 2-3, [1] p.). Folio. |
| Comment | Surviving copies, republications, piano rolls and amateur performances all suggest this song was very popular. There are no indications of professional performances, however. |
| Historical Note | - Despite a positive review in The Billboard (November 24, 1917), there was apparently only one printing. Three piano rolls were issued: by Imperial in November 1917 (player and roll number not known)
- by Rythmodik, © December 20, 1917 (Victor Arden and Paul King, G100674)
- and by QRS in March 1918 (player not known, 33268). Byron Harlan recorded the song for Columbia on December 27, 1917, but the recording was not issued. Performances of an arrangement for band persisted at least until 1919. The text was included in Feist’s “Songs the Soldiers and Sailors Sing” (© 1918 01 26)
- the chorus, as a lead-sheet, was included in the Army Song Book (1918). The cover is unsigned but attributed to Williams on stylistic grounds.
|
| Musical Note | Marketed as a comic novelty (“moderato”) in sheet music form, instrumental versions were categorised as marches. The melody suggests gapped scales, the rhythm recalls a 6/8 jig, and the harmony is uncomplicated—all characteristics consistent with prevailing “rube” stereotypes. |
| Subject - Topic | - World War, 1914-1918 -- Songs and music
- Popular music -- United States -- 1911-1920.
- Stereotypes (Social Psychology) -- Southern States
- Novelty songs.
- Humorous songs.
- Recruiting and enlistment -- Songs and music.
|
| Subject - Geographic | Southern States |
| Lyrics | - Giddy Giddap! Go On! Go On! (We’re On Our Way to War) [Verse] You talk about your rube recruits, In overalls and jumper suits, You ought to see the soldier boys of Pumpkinville. The day that they were call’d, by gosh! They left their field of corn and squash, And said goodbye to all their friends in Pumpkinville. Then Hy and Cy and Ephraham took Hezekiah’s bay, And as they rode away they sang a song that goes this way: [Refrain] Giddy Giddap! Go on! Go on! We’re on our way to war! We’re goin’ to tell ‘em to go to-well! That’s what we’re fighting for! We didn’t want to do it, boys, but now they’ve made us sore. Giddy Giddap! Go on! Go on! We’re on our way to war! [Verse] Miss Mandy said to Hiram Green, “Well you’re the bravest man I’ve seen. I’ll be so proud when you’ve joined the cavalry.” Then Hiram said, “That’s right of course, But I ain’t goin’ to ride no horse, Just let me say that I will join the infantry. ‘Cause when the bugle sounds ‘retreat,’ you bet that I’ll obey. I’ll run so fast that I don’t want no horses in my way.” [Refrain] [Verse] The boys were fighting hard one day, And in the middle of the fray You should have seen old Hiram Green from Pumpkinville
- He found a shell hole by his side, He jumped down in and tried to hide, And wished he was back home, by gosh! in Pumpkinville. The captain came and found him, said, “Get out where bullets burst.” Said Hy, “I beg your pardon, but I found this shell hole first.” [Refrain]
|
| Musical Genre | - Novelty song
- March song
- Comic song
|
| Repository | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sousa Archives and Center for American Music |
| Rights | No Copyright - United States |
| Artist | Williams, Gaar |
| Cover Description | - Cartoon drawing of four soldiers wearing fatigues, two with rifles, in a farm cart pulled by a cantering horse on a dusty road beside a crude fence, chickens and a pig scattering
- haystack and cabin with woman waving goodbye in background, left. Brown, beige, and blue on white
- unsigned.
|
| Back Cover Description | - © 1916 10 14) Third row: samples for I Ain’t Got Nobody (no author
- © 1914 04 08) Let’s Go Back to Dreamy Lotus Land (© 1917, advertised 1917 07 20) I Love That Loveable Melody (© 1917, piano roll announced 1917 02 24) Fourth row: samples and covers for Moonlight Blues (© 1916, advertised 1916 12 08) My Fox-trot Girl (© 1917, piano roll announced 1917 04 28)
- Advertisement for “Late Popular Successes”. Four rows of samples: Top row: samples and covers for If You’ve Never Been in Dreamland You’ve Never Been in Love (© 1917, advertised 1917 06 14) Avalon (© 1917, advertised 1917 02 07) Second row: samples for The Hour of Memory (A. Dvorak & J. Will Callahan
- © 1916 07 12) Sweet Cookie Mine (Clarence M. Jones & Jack Frost
- © 1917 04 19) Paradise Blues (Spencer Williams & Walter Hirsch
|
| Performance Medium | voice and piano |
| Original Location | - Record Series 12/9/96
- Series 2, Box 14, Folder 9
|
| Local Identifier | 2014_12996_222 |
| Collection Title | James Edward Myers Sheet Music Collection, 1836-1986 |
| Collection | James Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection |
