The Army Song Analysis

The Army Song, adopted in 1952 and originally titled “The Caisson Song” (in reference to the carts used to transport artillery) reflects the history and pride of the United States Army. Written in 1908 by First Lieutenant Edmund Gruber as a Field Artillery song, The Army Song explicitly invokes a sense of pride in the history of the U.S. Army, as well as an attitude of comradery. It gained popularity during World War I, as it was made the official marching song of the U.S. Army in 1917, and was chosen by the Secretary General of the Army to be the official U.S. Army song in 1952. It was renamed “The Army Goes Rolling Along” to make the song applicable to the entire army, rather than just Field Artillery as the author intended.

Pride in our history is central to the culture of any nation, and the Army is no exception. By mentioning Valley Forge, Custer, the Battle of

Mythologies of creation (stories that exaggerate history to inspire national pride) are a trademark of nation-building, and it follows that something as central to the construction of a nation as the military would subscribe to the general view of the American public that our history is something to take pride in. The line “minutemen from the start” conjures images of brave patriots, rather than the disjointed and poorly trained militias of the American Revolution (at least in the beginning), which is obviously not the model for the modern U.S. Army. Nonetheless, Americans are proud of the Revolutionary War (and the other historical events mentioned in The Army Song), and by using imagery from that time period The Army Song draws parallels between the Army then and the Army now, although they are not the same by any means. This is the crux of