Blood Upon the Risers: The Classic Airborne Infantry Anthem

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Scroll down to “Blood Upon the Risers” video

The most famous of all American Paratrooper songs is “Blood Upon the Risers” from the World War II era.

All current airborne units know it, including the 82nd, 173rd, 25ths 4th Brigade Combat Team, the 120th CTS and many more as well as British Airborne unites from the UK.

You may have heard the song sung on the TV mini-series Band of Brothers, which was about the 101st Airborne Division in WWII.

The song lyrics are about a new paratrooper in training that falls to his death after his parachute incorrectly opens causing him to descend helpless to the ground.

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LYRICS:

He was just a cherry trooper and he surely shook with fright
as he checked all his equipment and made sure his pack was tight
He had to sit and listen to the awful engines roar,
And he ain’t gonna jump no more.
CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva 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 leaped right out into the blast, his static line unhooked.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.
CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.
He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock;
He felt the wind, he felt the clouds, he felt the awful drop;
He jerked his cord, the silk spilled out and wrapped around his legs.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.
CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome;
The lines were snarled and tied in knots, around his skinny bones;
The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.
CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.

SCROLL DOWN TO “BLOOD UPON THE RISERS” VIDEO

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 wondered what they’d find.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.
CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.
The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild;
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.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.
CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die

SCROLL DOWN TO “BLOOD UPON THE RISERS” VIDEO

He ain’t gonna jump no more.
He hit the ground, the sound was splat, his blood went spurting high;
His comrades were then heard to say, “A helluve way to die”;
He lay there rolling ‘round in the welter of his gore.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.
CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more.
There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute;
Intestines were a-dangling from this paratrooper’s boots;
They picked him up, still in his chute and poured him from his boots.
He ain’t gonna jump no more.
CHORUS:
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, What a helluva way to die
He ain’t gonna jump no more