Louis Jordan (July 8, 1908 - February 4, 1975) was a pioneering African-Ame… Read Full Bio ↴Louis Jordan (July 8, 1908 - February 4, 1975) was a pioneering African-American jazz and rhythm & blues musician and songwriter who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the later years of the swing era.

Jordan was one of the first black recording artists whose popularity crossed over into the mainstream white audience and who scored hits on both the "race" charts and the mainstream white pop charts. He is now acknowledged as one of the most successful African-American musicians of the 20th century, ranking fifth in the list of the all-time most successful black recording artists.

Jordan scored at least four million-selling hits during his career, regularly topping the "race" charts, as well as scoring simultaneous Top Ten hits on the white pop charts on several occasions. Many of the songs he wrote or co-wrote have become 20th century popular music classics.

With his dynamic Tympany Five bands (which also pioneered the use of electric guitar and electric organ) Jordan largely mapped out the main parameters of the classic R&B, urban blues and early rock'n'roll genres with a series of hugely influential 78 rpm discs for the Decca label that presaged virtually all of the dominant black music styles of the 1950s and 1960s and which exerted a huge influence on many leading performers in these genres.

G.I. Jive
Louis Jordan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

This is the G. I. Jive
Man alive
It starts with the bugler blowin' reveille over your bed when you arrive
Jack, that's the G. I. Jive

Roodley-toot
Jump in your suit
Make a salute

Boot!!

After you wash and dress
More or less
You go get your breakfast in a beautiful little café they call "The Mess"
Jack, when you convalesce

Outta your seat
Into the street
Make with the feet
Reet!!

If you're a P-V-T, your duty
Is to salute to L-I-E-you-T
But if you brush the L-I-E-you-T
The M-P makes you K-P on the Q-T

This is the G. I. Jive
Man alive
They give you a private tank that features a little device called "fluid drive"
Jack, after you revive

Chuck all your junk
Back in the trunk
Fall on your bunk
Clunk!!

This is the G. I. Jive
Man alive
They give you a private tank that features a little device called "fluid drive"
Jack, if you still survive

Chuck all your junk
Back in the trunk
Fall on your bunk
Clunk!!

Soon you're countin' jeeps

But before you count to five
Seems you're right back diggin' that G. I. Jive

Overall Meaning

Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five's "G.I. Jive" is a song which pays tribute to the spirits and energy of the G.I. (General Infantry) life. The G.I. Jive is lively and rhythmic, just like the life in the army. It all starts with the sound of the bugler blowing the reveille over your bed to wake you up in the morning. The song spotlights the activities of the soldiers, right from the start of their day. After waking up, the soldiers have to jump in their suit, and boot up to make a salute. Then they head for breakfast in a café called "The Mess."

The song also depicts the level of respect and hierarchy maintained in army life. The Privates in the army have to salute Lieutenant, denoted by L-I-E-you-T. Then comes a funny and witty section of the song. It says, "But if you brush the L-I-E-you-T, The M-P makes you K-P on the Q-T." It means if you skip saluting your Lieutenant, then the Military Police will make you do a Kitchen Police duty where you have to clean pots and pans on the Quiet.

The song goes on to describe the life of the soldiers in the army, which includes giving them private tanks with some advanced features, counting jeeps- the Army's four-wheeled vehicle, and coming back to the G.I. Jive after enjoying everything in the Army.

Line by Line Meaning

This is the G. I. Jive
This is an upbeat song for soldiers who are alive

Man alive
It's truly amazing to be a soldier

It starts with the bugler blowin' reveille over your bed when you arrive
Your day begins with the sound of the bugle playing reveille as you wake up

Jack, that's the G. I. Jive
My friend, that's the start of the G. I. Jive

Roodley-toot
The bugle plays a cheerful tune

Jump in your suit
Get dressed quickly

Make a salute
Salute your superior officers

Boot!!
Hurry up and get ready

After you wash and dress
Once you're finished cleaning up and getting dressed

More or less
Approximately

You go get your breakfast in a beautiful little café they call "The Mess"
You can enjoy a nice breakfast at a small café called "The Mess"

Jack, when you convalesce
Buddy, when you're feeling better

Outta your seat
Get out of your seat

Into the street
Get out on the street

Make with the feet
Start marching

Reet!!
Let's go!

If you're a P-V-T, your duty
If you're a Private, your job is to

Is to salute to L-I-E-you-T
Salute your Lieutenant

But if you brush the L-I-E-you-T
But if you disrespect the Lieutenant

The M-P makes you K-P on the Q-T
The Military Police will punish you, and you'll have to do kitchen duty quietly

They give you a private tank that features a little device called "fluid drive"
You'll receive a personal tank that has an advanced technology called a "fluid drive"

Jack, after you revive
Friend, after you get back up

Chuck all your junk
Get rid of your extra belongings

Back in the trunk
Put it all back where it belongs

Fall on your bunk
Lie down on your bed

Clunk!!
With a loud noise

Jack, if you still survive
Buddy, if you're still kicking

Soon you're countin' jeeps
Before you know it, you're counting jeep vehicles

But before you count to five
But before you're even done counting to five

Seems you're right back diggin' that G. I. Jive
It seems like you're back to enjoying the G. I. Jive again

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Johnny Mercer

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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