Air Corps Lament

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Mine eyes have seen the days of men who ruled the fighting sky 
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With hearts that laughed at death and lived for nothing but to fly 
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But now those hearts are grounded and those days are long gone by 
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The Air Force is gone to hell 

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Glory, flying regulations 
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Have them read at every station 
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Crucify the man who breaks one 
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The Air Force is shot to hell 

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My bones have felt their pounding throb a hundred thousand strong 
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A mighty airborne legion, sent to right the deadly wrong 
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But now it's only memory, it only lives in song 
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The Air Force is gone to hell 

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The lordly Flying Fortress and the Liberator, too 
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Once wrote the doom of Germany with contrails in the blue 
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But now the skies are empty and our planes are wet with dew 
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And we can't fly for hell 

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Hap Arnold built a fighting team that sang the fighting song 
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About the wild blue yonder in the days when men were strong 
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But now, we're closely supervised for fear we may do wrong 
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The Air Force is gone to hell 

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Glory, flying regulations 
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Have them read at every station 
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Crucify the man who breaks one 
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The Air Force is shot to hell 

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I have seen them in their T-Bolts when their eyes were dancing flame 
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I've seen their screaming power dives that blasted Goering's name 
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But now they fly like sissies and they hang their heads in shame 
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Their spirit's shot to hell 

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They flew B-26's through a living hell of flak 
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And bloody, dying pilots gave their lives to bring them back 
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But now they all play ping-pong in the operations shack 
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Their technique's gone to hell  

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You heard your pounding fifties blaze from wings of polished steel 
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The purring of your Merlin was a song your heart could feel 
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But now, the L-5 charms you with its moaning, groaning squeal 
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And it won't climb for hell 

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Glory, flying regulations 
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Have them read at every station 
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Crucify the man who breaks one 
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The Air Force is shot to hell 

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Have you ever climbed a Lightning up to where the air is thin 
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Have you aimed her long nose downward just to hear the screaming din 
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Have you tried to do it lately? Better not; You'll auger in 
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And then you'll sure catch hell! 

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We were cocky, bold and happy when we played the angels' game 
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We split the blue with buzzing and we rolled our way to fame 
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But now that's all verboten and we're all so gol-durn tame 
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Our spirit's shot to hell 

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One day I buzzed an airfield with another reckless chap 
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We flew a hot formation with his wingtip in my lap 
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But there's a new directive and we'll have no more of that 
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Or you will burn in hell! 

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Glory, flying regulations 
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Have them read at every station 
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Crucify the man who breaks one 
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The Air Force is shot to hell 

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Mine eyes get dim with tears when I recall the days of old 
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When pilots took their choice of being old, or young and bold 
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Alas, I have no choice and I will live to be quite old 
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The Air Force is gone to hell 
 
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But smile awhile, my pilots though your eyes may still be wet 
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Some day we'll meet in heaven where the rules have not been set 
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And God will show us how to buzz and roll and really let 
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The Air Force fly like hell! 

Outro 
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Glory, no more regulations 
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Rip them down at every station 
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Ground the guy who tries to make one 
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And let us fly like hell!