"The Ballad of Rodger
Young" (right-click and save)
For Robert Heinlein, Rodger Young stood for
that
noblest of men--the soldier willing to put himself in
harm's way for the sake of his people. Heinlein first
mentions Young in 1952, when he recorded his piece
for Edward R. Murrow's This I Believe show. Heinlein
expands greatly on the theme in 1958 with Starship
Troopers, a controversial novel which he freely
admits having written in part to "glorif[y] the military
[. ..]specifically the P.B.I., the Poor Bloody Infantry, the
mudfoot who places his frail body between his loved
home and war's desolation--but is rarely
appreciated."* In the story, Johnny Rico serves
aboard the troop ship Rodger Young, and we have
occasion to hear the boarding tocsin for that ship, a
verse from Frank Loesser's "The Ballad of Rodger
Young."
To the everlasting glory of the infantry
Shines the name, shines the name of
Rodger Young
Either through error or for reasons perhaps
only he
knew, Heinlein conflated the lyrics of two verses to
get the couplet cited above; both lines are present in
the original song, but not in the same stanza. Below
is a zipped sample from the World War Two-era
ballad, sung by Nelson Eddy. Warmest thanks go to
Frank Buzzell, of Spring Lake, Michigan, from whose
collection of rare recordings this comes, and to the
resourceful Clif Martin of Muskegon, Michigan, who
recorded and shipped the song to us.
Lyrics to "The Ballad of Rodger Young,"
No, they've got no time for glory in the
Infantry.
No, they've got no use for praises loudly
sung,
But in every soldier's heart in all the
Infantry
Shines the name, shines the name of
Rodger Young.
Shines the name--Rodger Young!
Fought and died for the men he
marched among.
To the everlasting glory of the Infantry
Lives the story of Private Rodger
Young.
Caught in ambush lay a company of
riflemen--
Just grenades against machine guns in the
gloom--
Caught in ambush till this one of twenty
riflemen
Volunteered, volunteered to meet his
doom.
Volunteered, Rodger Young!
Fought and died for the men he
marched among.
In the everlasting annals of the Infantry
Glows the last deed of Private Rodger
Young.
It was he who drew the fire of the enemy
That a company of men might live to fight;
And before the deadly fire of the enemy
Stood the man, stood the man we hail
tonight.
On the island of New Georgia in the
Solomons,
Stands a simple wooden cross alone to tell
That beneath the silent coral of the
Solomons,
Sleeps a man, sleeps a man remembered
well.
Sleeps a man, Rodger Young,
Fought and died for the men he
marched among.
In the everlasting spirit of the Infantry
Breathes the spirit of Private Rodger
Young.
No, they've got no time for glory in the
Infantry,
No, they've got no use for praises loudly
sung,
But in every soldier's heart in all the
Infantry
Shines the name, shines the name of
Rodger Young.
Shines the name--Rodger Young!
Fought and died for the men he
marched among.
To the everlasting glory of the Infantry
Lives the story of Private Rodger
Young.
Frank Loesser