The U.S. Air Force Song
The US Air Force is the official song of the United States Air Force.
Written in 1939, it is known informally as "The Air Force Song," and is
often referred to informally as "Into the Wild Blue Yonder", "Off We
Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder,"[1] or simply "Wild Blue Yonder."
Originally, the song was titled as The Army Air Corps. The lyrics and
music was written by Robert MacArthur Crawford during 1939. In 1947,
the words "U.S. Air Force" in the title and lyrics replaced the
original "Army Air Corps". On 27 September, 1979, General Lew Allen,
Jr., Chief of Staff of the Air Force, adopted it as the official song
for the service.
History
In 1937, Assistant Chief of the Air Corps Brigadier General Henry H.
Arnold persuaded the Chief of the Air Corps, Major General Oscar
Westover, that the Air Corps needed an official song reflecting their
unique identity in the same manner as the other military services, and
proposed a song competition with a prize to the winner. However, the
Air Corps did not control its budget, and could not give a prize. In
April 1938, Bernarr A. Macfadden, publisher of Liberty magazine
stepped in, offering a prize of $1,000 to the winning composer,
stipulating that the song must be of simple "harmonic structure",
"within the limits of [an] untrained voice", and its beat in "march
tempo of military pattern".
Over 700 compositions were received and evaluated by a volunteer
committee of senior Air Corps wives with musical backgrounds chaired
by Mildred Yount, the wife of Brigadier General Barton K. Yount. The
committee had until July 1939 to make a final choice. However, word
eventually spread that the committee did not find any songs that
satisfied them, despite the great number of entries.
Arnold, who later became Chief of the Air Corps in 1938 after
Westover solicited direct inquiries from professional composers and
commercial publishers, including Meredith Willson and Irving Berlin,
but not even Berlin's creation proved satisfactory, although it was
used as the title music to Winged Victory by Moss Hart. Two days
before the deadline, Crawford, a music instructor, aviation
enthusiast, and professional musician billed as "the Flying Baritone,"
personally delivered a sound recording of his entry, which proved to
be a unanimous winner. Mrs. Yount recalled that Rudolph Ganz, guest
conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra and a consultant to the
committee, was immediately and enthusiastically in favor of the song
submittrd by Crawford.
The contest rules required the winner to submit his entry in written
form, and Crawford immediately complied. However his original title,
What Do You think of the Air Corps Now?, was soon officially changed
to The Army Air Corps. Crawford himself publicly sang the song for the
first time, over national radio from the 1939 National Air Races.
Not everyone was fond of the song. During a dinner of September 1939,
Mrs. Yount played a recording of the song for Charles Lindbergh and
asked his opinion. He responded politely to Yount, but years later
remarked in a diary, "I think it is mediocre at best. Neither the
music nor the words appealed to me." Arnold did not share Lindbergh's
opinion: he sought to fund publication of band and ensemble
arrangements of the song for nationwide distribution.
However, the Air Corps did not have enough money to publicize the
song, so Crawford arranged a transfer of the song's copyright to New
York music publisher Carl Fischer Inc., including a perpetual
performance release in favor of the US Air Force. After World War II
Crawford opened a restaurant near Opa Locka, Florida, named the "Blue
Yonder". It featured "all you can eat" main courses. |
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The full lyrics of the song are as follows:
[Verse 1]
Off we go into the wild blue yonder,
Climbing high into the sun;
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder,
At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun! (Give 'er the gun!)
Down we dive, spouting our flame from under,
Off with one helluva roar!
We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!
Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force!
[Verse 2]
Minds of men fashioned a crate of thunder,
Sent it high into the blue;
Hands of men blasted the world asunder;
How they lived God only knew! (God only knew then!)
Souls of men dreaming of skies to conquer
Gave us wings, ever to soar!
With scouts before and bombers galore. Hey!
Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force!/
[Verse 3]
Bridge: "A Toast to the Host"
Here's a toast to the host
Of those who love the vastness of the sky,
To a friend we send a message of his brother men who fly.
We drink to those who gave their all of old,
Then down we roar to score the rainbow's pot of gold.
A toast to the host of men we boast, the U.S. Air Force!
[Verse 4]
Zoom!
Off we go into the wild sky yonder,
Keep the wings level and true;
If you'd live to be a grey-haired wonder
Keep the nose out of the blue! (Out of the blue, boy!)
Flying men, guarding the nation's border,
We'll be there, followed by more!
In echelon we carry on. Hey!
Nothing will stop the U.S. Air Force!
The third verse ("Here's a toast...") has a different melody, and a
more reverent mood than the rest of the song to commemorate those who
have fallen in the service of the Air Force and the United States.
This verse is sometimes performed independently of the other verses.
The third verse is sung by itself as the Air Force Academy's alma
mater after most Academy sporting events. Most notably, it is sung
after games against rivals Army and Navy, when the teams combine to
participate in the singing of both Academies' alma maters.
The third verse is also traditionally sung by Academy cadets and
graduates to honor the passing of a fellow cadet or graduate.
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SYMBOLISM OF THE GREAT SEAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
The symbolism incorporated in the Great seal of the Department of the
Air Force represents the following:
- The predominant colors, ultramarine blue and gold, are the colors
of the Air Force through transition from the Air Corps.
- The 13 stars represent the Thirteen Original Colonies of the
United States. The grouping of three stars at the top of the
design portrays the three Departments of the National Defense
Establishment, Army, Navy, and Air Force.
- The crest includes the American Bald Eagle, which is the symbol of
the United States and air striking power. The cloud formation
depicts the creation of a new firmament, and the wreath, composed
of six alternate folds of silver and blue, incorporate the colors
of the basic shield design.
- The shield, divided with the nebuly line formation, representing
clouds, is charged with the heraldic thunderbolt. The thunderbolt
portrays striking power through the medium of air.
- The Roman numerals beneath the shield indicate the year 1947, in
which the Department of the Air Force was established.
- On a band encircling the whole is the inscription "Department of
the Air Force" and "United States of America".
The entire design used on the shield of the Air Force Seal is taken
from an heraldic representation of the mythological thunderbolt, also
termed Jupiter's thunderbolt,. Jupiter was the Roman mythological God
of the Heavens. At the honor point of the shield is a lightning bolt
or elongated projectile-like mass, conceived of as the missile cast to
earth in the lightning flash. The word thunderbolt -- a single
discharge of lightning with the accompanying thunder -- derived from
the idea that lightning was a bolt thrown to earth by a god.The pair
of wings and smaller lightning flashes surrounding the bolt complete
the design.
The eagle's head is turned to the right and symbolizes facing the
enemy -- looking toward the future and not dwelling on past deeds.
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