Air Corps Lament
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[Verso 1] E
Mine eyes have seen the days of men who ruled the fighting sky
A E
With hearts that laughed at death and lived for nothing but to fly
E
But now those hearts are grounded and those days are long gone by
A E
The Air Force is gone to hell
[Refrão]E
Glory, flying regulations
A E
Have them read at every station
E
Crucify the man who breaks one
A E
The Air Force is shot to hell
[Verso 2] E
My bones have felt their pounding throb a hundred thousand strong
A E
A mighty airborne legion, sent to right the deadly wrong
E
But now it's only memory, it only lives in song
A E
The Air Force is gone to hell
[Verso 3] E
The lordly Flying Fortress and the Liberator, too
A E
Once wrote the doom of Germany with contrails in the blue
E
But now the skies are empty and our planes are wet with dew
A E
And we can't fly for hell
[Verso 4] E
Hap Arnold built a fighting team that sang the fighting song
A E
About the wild blue yonder in the days when men were strong
E
But now, we're closely supervised for fear we may do wrong
A E
The Air Force is gone to hell
[Refrão]E
Glory, flying regulations
A E
Have them read at every station
E
Crucify the man who breaks one
A E
The Air Force is shot to hell
[Verso 5] E
I have seen them in their T-Bolts when their eyes were dancing flame
A E
I've seen their screaming power dives that blasted Goering's name
E
But now they fly like sissies and they hang their heads in shame
A E
Their spirit's shot to hell
[Verso 6] E
They flew B-26's through a living hell of flak
A E
And bloody, dying pilots gave their lives to bring them back
E
But now they all play ping-pong in the operations shack
A E
Their technique's gone to hell
[Verso 7]
E
You heard your pounding fifties blaze from wings of polished steel
A E
The purring of your Merlin was a song your heart could feel
E
But now, the L-5 charms you with its moaning, groaning squeal
A E
And it won't climb for hell
[Refrão]E
Glory, flying regulations
A E
Have them read at every station
E
Crucify the man who breaks one
A E
The Air Force is shot to hell
[Verso 8] E
Have you ever climbed a Lightning up to where the air is thin
A E
Have you aimed her long nose downward just to hear the screaming din
E
Have you tried to do it lately? Better not; You'll auger in
A E
And then you'll sure catch hell!
[Verso 9] E
We were cocky, bold and happy when we played the angels' game
A E
We split the blue with buzzing and we rolled our way to fame
E
But now that's all verboten and we're all so gol-durn tame
A E
Our spirit's shot to hell
E
One day I buzzed an airfield with another reckless chap
A E
We flew a hot formation with his wingtip in my lap
E
But there's a new directive and we'll have no more of that
A E
Or you will burn in hell!
[Refrão]E
Glory, flying regulations
A E
Have them read at every station
E
Crucify the man who breaks one
A E
The Air Force is shot to hell
E
Mine eyes get dim with tears when I recall the days of old
A E
When pilots took their choice of being old, or young and bold
E
Alas, I have no choice and I will live to be quite old
A E
The Air Force is gone to hell
E
But smile awhile, my pilots though your eyes may still be wet
A E
Some day we'll meet in heaven where the rules have not been set
E
And God will show us how to buzz and roll and really let
A E
The Air Force fly like hell!
Outro
E
Glory, no more regulations
A
Rip them down at every station
E
Ground the guy who tries to make one
A E A
And let us fly like hell!
How to play Air Corps Lament
Use the controls above to change the key and text size. Follow the highlighted chords while listening, then practice each section slowly before playing at the original tempo.
What is the starting chord?
The first identified chord is E. You can transpose without leaving the page.
Can I play it on guitar or keyboard?
Yes. The chord progression works on acoustic guitar, electric guitar and keyboard. Adapt the voicings to your instrument and level.