Blood on the Risers

"Blood Upon the Risers" is an American paratrooper song from World War II. It is associated with all current airborne units, including the 101st Airborne Division, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 173rd Airborne Brigade and 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) of the 25th Infantry Division, and the 120th CTS (United States) as well as British airborne units, also being known as "Mancha Roja" (Spanish for "Red Stain") in many airborne units from multiple Latin American countries. In Spain it is called "Sangre en las cuerdas" ("Blood upon the risers" in English).

This song has been featured in the television miniseries Band of Brothers, the television series Preacher, and the video game Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, and was also mentioned in Donald Burgett's book Currahee!: A Screaming Eagle at Normandy. Sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", the song tells of the final fatal jump of a rookie paratrooper whose parachute fails to deploy. This results in him falling to his death.

The song is also a cautionary tale on the dangers of improper preparation of a parachute jump. The protagonist does everything right, but forgets to hook on his static line which would automatically deploy his main parachute; upon discovering this error during the jump, he deploys his reserve chute in bad falling position with disastrous results. As the reserve chute is stored in a belly bag on the World War II-era rig, deploying it in a bad falling position could easily lead to an accident, not unlike the one described in the song. "Risers" are the four straps that connect the suspension lines of the parachute canopy to the parachute harness.

Lyrics

He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright,
He checked all 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!"
(This opening verse was excluded in Donald Burgett's autobiography.)

  (CHORUS)
  Gory, gory, what a hellu'va (hell of a) way to die,
  Gory, gory, what a hellu'va (hell of a) way to die,
  Gory, gory, what a hellu'va (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 crowded(/jumped) into the icy blast, his static line unhooked,
(Donald Burgett vsn of above line is: He leaped right out into the blast, his static line unhooked.)
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(Donald Burgett vsn excludes the "And" from the last line of each verse.)

  (CHORUS)

He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock,
He felt the wind, he felt the cold (DB vsn: clouds), he felt the awful drop,
The silk from his reserve spilled out, and wrapped around his legs,
(DB vsn of above line is: He jerked his cord, the silk spilled out and wrapped around his legs.)
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

  (CHORUS)

The risers swung (DB vsn: wrapped) around his neck, connectors cracked his dome,
Suspension lines were (DB vsn: The lines were snarled and) 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.

  (CHORUS)

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 medics, and He (DB vsn excludes "He") wondered what they'd find,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

  (CHORUS)

The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild,
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled,
(DB vsn of above line: The medics jumped and screamed with glee, they rolled 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.

  (CHORUS)

He hit the ground, the sound was "SPLAT", his blood went spurting high;
His comrades, they (DB vsn: 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.

  (CHORUS)

(slowly, solemnly; about half the speed of the other verses)
There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,
Intestines were a-dangling from his paratroopers suit,
(DB vsn of above line: Intestines were a-dangling from the paratrooper's boots;)
He was a mess, they picked him up, and poured him from his boots,
(DB vsn of above line: They picked him up, still in his chute and poured him from his boots.)
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

  (CHORUS)

These additional verses are sung by various veterans groups but they are not part of the original song:

Now the letter they sent home, went to his wife and baby son.
Madam we regret to say, your troopers life is done.
But hold your head up high, his name is written in the sky!
He ain't gonna jump no more!

  (CHORUS)

Now the baby son grew up and said, "A troopers life for me!"
A jumper like my daddy was, is all I want to be.
I only hope that I can jump just half as good as he!
He ain't gonna jump no more!

  (CHORUS)

They sent him to Afghanistan and then into Iraq!
The bullet then came speeding up, and deep into his back.
He hit the ground but his grenade found enemy on track!
He ain't gonna jump no more!

  (CHORUS)

It hurt to lose the life of both her husband and her son.
but she was very proud they were both in the 101.
She turned her head into the sky, and then they heard her cry!
He ain't gonna jump no more!

  (CHORUS)

Chorus confusion

Veterans and historians dispute whether the chorus says "Gory, Gory" or "Glory, Glory"1 like the original "Battle Hymn of the Republic".[1] The song is often sung at a shout ('piano forte'), it is hard to distinguish whether the "L" sound is exaggerated. The original published version shows "gory" to be the word. Some versions of the song substitute the second line of the chorus for "with a rifle on his back as he's falling through the sky". The version taught at Fort Benning, GA in 1975 used "They picked him up still in his 'chute and poured him from his jump boots". Alternatively, "paratrooper boots". Some versions add "They poured him from his helmet, and they poured him from his boots" for the final line of the song.

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References
  1. "Civil War Music: The Battle Hymn of the Republic". civilwar.org. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
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