Colonel Bogey March
Encyclopedia
The "Colonel Bogey March" is a popular march
that was written in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (1881–1945), a British
army bandmaster
who later became director of music for the Royal Marines
at Plymouth
. Since at that time service personnel were not encouraged to have professional lives outside the armed forces, Ricketts published "Colonel Bogey" and his other compositions under the pseudonym Kenneth Alford
. Supposedly, the tune was inspired by a military man and golf
er who whistled a characteristic two-note phrase (a descending minor third
interval) instead of shouting "Fore
!". It is this descending interval which begins each line of the melody. The name "Colonel Bogey" began in the later 19th century as the imaginary "standard opponent" of the Colonel Bogey scoring system, and by Edwardian times the Colonel had been adopted by the golfing world as the presiding spirit of the course. Edwardian golfers on both sides of the Atlantic often played matches against "Colonel Bogey". Bogey is now a golfing term meaning one over par.
The sheet music was a million-seller, and the march was recorded many times. "Colonel Bogey" is the authorized march of The King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC)
of the Canadian Forces
. Many humorous or satirical verses have been sung to this tune; some of them vulgar. The English quickly established a simple insulting use for the tune, where the first two syllables were used for a variety of rude expressions, e.g. "Bollocks", then followed by "...and the same to you." and perhaps even more commonly "Bullshit, that's all the band can play, Bullshit, they play it night and day". The best known, which originated in England
at the outset of World War II
, goes by the title "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball
". A later parody, based on a 1960s television commercial which used the melody, sung by schoolchildren in the United States
, is called "Comet
", and deals with the effects of consuming a popular brand of household cleanser
.
added a counter-march
for use in the 1957 dramatic film The Bridge on the River Kwai
, which was set during World War II. Although the lyrics were not used in the film, British audiences of the time fully understood the subtextual humour of "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball" being sung by prisoners of war. Because the tune is so identified with the film, many people now incorrectly refer to the "Colonel Bogey March" as "The River Kwai March
". In fact, Arnold used this name for a completely different march that he wrote for the film. Because the film concerned prisoners of war being held under inhumane conditions by the Japanese, there was a minor diplomatic flap in May 1980 when the "Colonel Bogey March" was played during a visit to Canada
by Japanese prime minister Masayoshi Ōhira
.
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
that was written in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (1881–1945), a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
army bandmaster
Bandmaster
A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a military band, brass band or a marching band.-British Armed Forces:In the British Armed Forces, a Bandmaster is always a Warrant Officer Class 1 . A commissioned officer who leads a band is known as the Director of Music...
who later became director of music for the Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. Since at that time service personnel were not encouraged to have professional lives outside the armed forces, Ricketts published "Colonel Bogey" and his other compositions under the pseudonym Kenneth Alford
Kenneth Alford
Frederick Joseph Ricketts was a British composer of marches for band. Using the pen name Kenneth J. Alford, his marches are considered to be great examples of the art...
. Supposedly, the tune was inspired by a military man and golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er who whistled a characteristic two-note phrase (a descending minor third
Minor third
In classical music from Western culture, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions , and the minor third is one of two commonly occurring thirds. The minor quality specification identifies it as being the smallest of the two: the minor third spans three semitones, the major...
interval) instead of shouting "Fore
Fore (golf)
"Fore!" is shouted as a warning during a golf game when it appears possible that a golf ball may hit other players or spectators. The mention of the term in an 1881 British Golf Museum indicates that the term was in use at least as early as that period...
!". It is this descending interval which begins each line of the melody. The name "Colonel Bogey" began in the later 19th century as the imaginary "standard opponent" of the Colonel Bogey scoring system, and by Edwardian times the Colonel had been adopted by the golfing world as the presiding spirit of the course. Edwardian golfers on both sides of the Atlantic often played matches against "Colonel Bogey". Bogey is now a golfing term meaning one over par.
The sheet music was a million-seller, and the march was recorded many times. "Colonel Bogey" is the authorized march of The King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC)
The King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC)
The King's Own Calgary Regiment , or KOCR, is an armoured unit of the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve based at the Mewata Armoury in Calgary, Alberta....
of the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
. Many humorous or satirical verses have been sung to this tune; some of them vulgar. The English quickly established a simple insulting use for the tune, where the first two syllables were used for a variety of rude expressions, e.g. "Bollocks", then followed by "...and the same to you." and perhaps even more commonly "Bullshit, that's all the band can play, Bullshit, they play it night and day". The best known, which originated in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the outset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, goes by the title "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball
Hitler Has Only Got One Ball
"Hitler Has Only Got One Ball" is a song that mocks Nazi leaders using blue comedy in reference to their testicles. Multiple variants of the lyrics exist, generally sung as four-line verses to the tune of the "Colonel Bogey March".-Origin of the song:...
". A later parody, based on a 1960s television commercial which used the melody, sung by schoolchildren in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is called "Comet
Comet (song)
"Comet" was a well-known humorous children's song in the United States. It describes the deleterious effects of consuming Comet cleanser—a powdered cleansing product sold in North America. The most prominent and often-occurring effect in the song is that it turns one's teeth green...
", and deals with the effects of consuming a popular brand of household cleanser
Comet (cleanser)
Comet is a powdered cleaning product sold in North America and distributed in the United States by Prestige Brands. Scratch Free Comet with Bleach Disinfectant Cleanser contains 1.2% sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione dihydrate and 98.8% "other" ingredients...
.
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The English composer Malcolm ArnoldMalcolm Arnold
Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...
added a counter-march
The River Kwai March
"The River Kwai March" is a march composed by Malcolm Arnold in 1957. It was written as an orchestral counter-march to the "Colonel Bogey March" whistled by the soldiers entering the prisoner camp in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai...
for use in the 1957 dramatic film The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
, which was set during World War II. Although the lyrics were not used in the film, British audiences of the time fully understood the subtextual humour of "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball" being sung by prisoners of war. Because the tune is so identified with the film, many people now incorrectly refer to the "Colonel Bogey March" as "The River Kwai March
The River Kwai March
"The River Kwai March" is a march composed by Malcolm Arnold in 1957. It was written as an orchestral counter-march to the "Colonel Bogey March" whistled by the soldiers entering the prisoner camp in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai...
". In fact, Arnold used this name for a completely different march that he wrote for the film. Because the film concerned prisoners of war being held under inhumane conditions by the Japanese, there was a minor diplomatic flap in May 1980 when the "Colonel Bogey March" was played during a visit to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
by Japanese prime minister Masayoshi Ōhira
Masayoshi Ohira
was a Japanese politician and the 68th and 69th Prime Minister of Japan from December 7, 1978 to June 12, 1980. He is the most recent Japanese prime minister to die in office.He was born in present day Kan'onji, Kagawa and attended Hitotsubashi University....
.
In popular culture
- The tune was whistled, as an insult, by Michael RedgraveMichael RedgraveSir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
in Alfred HitchcockAlfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's 1938 film The Lady VanishesThe Lady Vanishes (1938 film)The Lady Vanishes is a 1938 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and adapted by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder from the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White...
, which may be the first time it was heard in a fictional film. - The tune was ostensibly played by an American Army band parading in London in an opening scene of the 1945 British film I Live in Grosvenor SquareI Live in Grosvenor SquareI Live in Grosvenor Square is a British war film, directed and produced by Herbert Wilcox—a forerunner of his "London films" collaboration with his wife, actress Anna Neagle. The film deploys a tragi-comic plot in a context of US-British wartime co-operation, and displays icons of popular music...
. The Australian Military Band plays the song in the film The CrossingThe Crossing (1990 film)The Crossing is a 1990 Australian drama film directed by George Ogilvie and starring Russell Crowe, Robert Mammone and Danielle Spencer, which was filmed in the towns of Junee and Condobolin in New South Wales.-Box office:...
. - It has been used in films such as The Parent Trap, CavemanCaveman (film)Caveman is a 1981 American slapstick comedy film written and directed by Carl Gottlieb and starring Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, Shelley Long and Barbara Bach.-Plot:...
, The Breakfast ClubThe Breakfast ClubThe Breakfast Club is a 1985 American teen drama film written and directed by John Hughes. The storyline follows five teenagers as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes.-Plot:The plot follows five students at...
, A Very Brady SequelA Very Brady SequelA Very Brady Sequel is a 1996 comedy film and sequel to 1995’s The Brady Bunch Movie. Both films are parodies-homages of the classic 1969–1974 television sitcom The Brady Bunch. The film was directed by Arlene Sanford and stars Shelley Long and Gary Cole as Carol and Mike Brady. The film was a box...
, Short CircuitShort CircuitShort Circuit is a 1986 comedy science fiction film starring Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg and directed by John Badham. Fisher Stevens, Austin Pendleton, and G. W...
, The Bridge on the River KwaiThe Bridge on the River KwaiThe Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
(perhaps the most famous use), SpaceballsSpaceballsSpaceballs is a 1987 American science fiction comedy parody film co-written by, directed by, Mel Brooks and starring Bill Pullman, John Candy, Mel Brooks & Rick Moranis. It also features, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, and the voice of Joan Rivers. The film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on...
, Brassed OffBrassed OffBrassed Off is a 1996 British film written and directed by Mark Herman. The film, a British-American co-production made between Channel Four Films, Miramax Films and Prominent Films, is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of their pit...
and The Card (1952). - It was used in both the Russian film Hello, I'm Your Aunt!Hello, I'm Your Aunt!Hello, I'm Your Aunt! is a Soviet 1975 musical comedy film directed by Viktor Titov loosely based on the play Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas. Runtime - 98 min. Produced by T/O Ekran...
as Colonel Sir Francis Chesney's theme, and in the British film Where's Charlie (starring the late Danny La RueDanny La RueDanny La Rue, OBE was an Irish-born British entertainer known for his singing and drag impersonations.-Early life:...
) with the lyrics projected on to a cinema screen, for the audience to join in singing. Both films were interpretations of Charlie's Aunt, but set in the Second World War. - The tune is played on kazoos in the 2001 animated film Recess: School's OutRecess: School's OutRecess: School's Out is a 2001 animated film based on the Disney television series Recess. This film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and was released theatrically nationwide on February 16, 2001. It was released on video and DVD on August 7, 2001.-Plot:School's out at Third Street School, but...
. - In the Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial "The Face of EvilThe Face of EvilThe Face of Evil is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This serial starred Tom Baker as the Doctor and was the fourth story in Series 14 of Doctor Who. First broadcast in four weekly parts from January 1 to January 22, 1977...
", The DoctorDoctor (Doctor Who)The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
(portrayed by Tom BakerTom BakerThomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
) whistles the march to show his disdain of his alien antagonizers as he explores a planet. The Doctor also whistles the march in the serials The Invasion of TimeThe Invasion of TimeThe Invasion of Time is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 4 February to 11 March 1978...
and The Talons of Weng-ChiangThe Talons of Weng-ChiangThe Talons of Weng-Chiang is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 26 February to 2 April 1977.-Synopsis:...
. - On FarscapeFarscapeFarscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...
, in the episode Mental as Anything, John Crichton whistles the tune while trapped in a cage heated with coals. - On Friends episode "The One with all the Poker", the six friends whistle the tune while they are preparing RachelRachel GreenRachel Karen Green is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Jennifer Aniston. Aniston received an Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe for her performances.-Background:...
's CVs. - In the LostLost (TV series)Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
episode "Catch-22Catch-22 (Lost)"Catch-22" is the 17th episode of the third season of Lost, and the 66th episode overall. It was aired in the US on April 18, 2007 on ABC. The episode was written by Jeff Pinkner and Brian K. Vaughan, and directed by Stephen Williams...
", it was whistled by DesmondDesmond HumeDesmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been stranded on the island three years prior to...
, CharlieCharlie PaceCharlie Hieronymus Pace is a fictional character on ABC's Lost, a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island...
, Hurley, and JinJin-Soo KwonJin-Soo Kwon, better known as "Jin," is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Daniel Dae Kim.- Prior to the crash :...
as they march across the beach. - The actor John CandyJohn CandyJohn Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of The Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in comedy films such as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle...
used this piece almost as a signature theme tune throughout his television and film career. In SCTVSecond City TelevisionSecond City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.- Premise :...
, this was the theme tune for Candy's recurring fictional character Johnny LaRue. He performed renditions of it in his films "Volunteers" and "Planes, Trains and Automobiles". Candy was in the audience for the American Film InstituteAmerican Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
's tribute to David LeanDavid LeanSir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
, director of Bridge on the River Kwai. When Lean rose to accept his award, the orchestra played "The Colonel Bogey March" ... and a camera cut to show Candy's reaction. - The British TV show HyperdriveHyperdrive (TV series)Hyperdrive is a British television science fiction sitcom series produced by the BBC created under the working title of "Full Power." BBC2 broadcast two series in 2006 and 2007, A third series is yet to be commissioned and the actor Kevin Eldon has indicated that is unlikely to be...
on BBC2 uses the tune as its theme. - On the Benny Hill Show, this tune was used in game show sketches where the host (Benny HillBenny HillBenny Hill was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme The Benny Hill Show.-Early life:...
) asks contestants to name that tune. - In 1950 or 1951 the Australian digital computer CSIRACCSIRACCSIRAC , originally known as CSIR Mk 1, was Australia's first digital computer, and the fourth stored program computer in the world. It was first to play digital music and is one of only a few surviving first-generation computers .The CSIRAC was constructed by a team led by Trevor Pearcey and...
"stunned" an audience by playing the march for the first digital computer music performance. - In the 1960s British comedy revue Beyond The FringeBeyond the FringeBeyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Jonathan Miller. It played in London's West End and then on New York's Broadway in the early 1960s, and is widely regarded as seminal to the rise of satire in 1960s Britain.-The...
and in the 1970s Broadway revue Good Evening, Dudley MooreDudley MooreDudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
performed a satiric arrangement of the march in the style of a Beethoven piano sonataSonataSonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
, in which the codaCoda (music)Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
drags on for nearly two-and-a-half minutes as a parody of the style. This item was identified in the playbills of both revues as "The Kwai Sonata", adding to the misconception that it was written for the film Bridge on the River Kwai. - Japanese children sing this melody with improvised lyrics of "MonkeyMonkeyA monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
(in Japanese, saru) -GorillaGorillaGorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
-ChimpanzeeChimpanzeeChimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
" as a joke, while among grown-ups the lyrics as a title "Kuchibue Fuite (When We Whistle) are well known after a 1963 NHK children's program, Minna no Uta, performed this song. - Yoko OnoYoko Onois a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, in her book Grapefruit, relates a story of having put on a conceptual show in which one piece consisted of ten minutes' complete darkness. When the piece was performed in London, one audience member began whistling what Ono referred to as "the theme from Bridge of River Kwai", and soon the entire audience had joined in.
See also
- Authorized marches of the Canadian ForcesAuthorized marches of the Canadian ForcesThe following is a list of the notable authorized marches for various organizations of the Canadian Forces. The first march listed is the march most commonly performed for that organization on parade; it is commonly referred to simply as that organization's "march" or "march past"...
- "Hitler Has Only Got One BallHitler Has Only Got One Ball"Hitler Has Only Got One Ball" is a song that mocks Nazi leaders using blue comedy in reference to their testicles. Multiple variants of the lyrics exist, generally sung as four-line verses to the tune of the "Colonel Bogey March".-Origin of the song:...
" - "CometComet (song)"Comet" was a well-known humorous children's song in the United States. It describes the deleterious effects of consuming Comet cleanser—a powdered cleansing product sold in North America. The most prominent and often-occurring effect in the song is that it turns one's teeth green...
"
External links
- Melody
- The real Colonel Bogey from Music & Vision Daily