Letter In the Mail | Military Cadence
(Lyrics & History)
Throughout the years, countless cadences, also known as "Jodies" or "Jody calls," have been used across the US military, all telling a different story. Many WW2, Vietnam, Korean War-era cadences describe the reluctance of a draftee to embrace military life and culture.
"Letter in the Mail is a comedic story of a draftee who is completely unfit for military life. With reference to missing your girl back home, missing the nice cars and regular clothes, and feeling a bit like a goober for being sucked into it all, the cadence makes light of the thought many of us had to ourselves: "What on earth am I doing here?"
Lyrics
Uh oh, Oh no
I gotta leave, I gotta go
This army life is crazy
It’s got me missing my baby
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I got a letter in the mail
Go to war or go to jail
I got a letter in the mail
Go to war or go to jail
​
This army life is crazy
It’s got me (hey), it’s got me (hey!)
It’s got me missing my baby
​
I used to date a beauty queen
Now I date my M-16
I used to date a beauty queen
Now I date my M-16
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This army life is not my style
It’s got my feeling like Gomer Pyle
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Listen to this cadence:
Song Name: Letter In the Mail
Album Name: Cadences Volume 1
by Jonathan Michael Fleming
Uh-oh, Oh-no
I gotta leave, I gotta go
This army life is crazy
It’s got me (hey), it’s got me (hey!)
It’s got me missing my baby
​
I used to wear my favorite jeans
Now I’m rocking army greens
I used to wear my favorite jeans
Now I’m rocking army greens
​
This army life is not my style
It’s got me feeling like Gomer Pyle
Uh-oh, Oh-no
I gotta leave, I gotta go
This army life is crazy
It’s got me missing my baby
DISCLAIMERS:
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The lyrics and music to the above cadence are not original to me. To the best of my knowledge, the song is in the public domain, as the author is unknown and has simply been handed down generation-to-generation within the US military.
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The views and opinions presented herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its Components. Appearance of, or reference to, any commercial products or services does not constitute DoD endorsement of those products or services. The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute DoD endorsement of the linked websites, or the information, products or services therein.