From the film “White Christmas”, 1953.
Words and music by Irving Berlin.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
When I was mustered out
I thought without a doubt
That I was through with all my care and strife
I thought that I was then
The happiest of men
But after months of tough civilian life
Chorus
Gee, I wish I was back in the army
My, the army wasn’t really bad at all
Three meals a day, for which you didn’t pay
Uniforms for winter, spring and fall
There’s a lot to be said for the army
The life without responsibility
A soldier out of luck was really never stuck
There’s always someone higher up
Where you can pass the buck
Oh, gee, I wish I was back in the army
Chorus
Gee, I wish I was back in the army
The shows we got civilians couldn’t see
How we would yell for Deitrich and Cornell
Crosby, Hope and Jolson all for free
There’s a lot to be said for the army
The best of doctors watched you carefully
A dentist and a clerk
For weeks and weeks they’d work
They’d make a thousand dollar job
And give it to a jerk
Oh, gee, I wish I was back in the army
Chorus
Gee, I wish I was back in the army
The army was the place to find romance
Soldiers and Wacs, the Wacs who dressed in slacks
Dancing cheek to cheek and pants to pants
There’s a lot to be said for the army
A gal was never lost for company
A million handsome guys
With longing in their eyes
And all you had to do was pick
The age, the weight and size
Oh, gee, I wish I was back in the army