"The Quartermaster's Store" is a traditional song from England. It is Roud Folk Song Index no. 10508. The origins of both tune and words are uncertain. It was sung by British and

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comm ...

soldiers during World War I, but may be an older song of the prewar British regular army, or even have origins dating back to the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...

in the 17th century. In those World War I armies, the

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

's department was responsible for stores and supplies. The song lists its supposed characteristics, many of them slovenly or unhygienic. The song was known in the United States by the 1930s; it was sung by the Lincoln Battalion, a unit of American volunteers who fought on the republican side in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

(1936-39). During World War II, the song was popular in the RAF as well as the Army. The song is also known as The Quartermaster Corps or The Quartermaster's Corps. See http://awe.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=4834. The song has gained wide popularity outside the military sphere, particularly as a

campfire song Camp songs or campfire songs are a category of folk music traditionally sung around a campfire for entertainment. Since the advent of summer camp as an activity for children, these songs have been identified with children's songs, although they may ...

in the

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...

and Guiding movements. The

Barmy Army The Barmy Army is a company that provides tickets and arranges touring parties for some of its members to follow the English cricket team in the UK and overseas. The Barmy Army was at first an informal group, but was later turned into a company li ...

, supporters of the England cricket team, have been known to sing about England international cricketers Stuart Broad and his father

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...

to the tune of "The Quartermaster's Store". As is common in oral tradition, the words vary widely; and it being a list song, there have been many verses. The military versions are often earthier than those intended for children or teenagers. Two typical military verses are: The song has been recorded several times: * Murgatroyd and Winterbottom ( Tommy Handley and Ronald Frankau), British comedians, as a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wi ...

*1940s

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notabl ...

, American folksinger *1959?Les Cleveland and the D-Day Dodgers, New Zealand *1960

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richar ...

, British instrumental band, as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of the No. 1 single " Apache";

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

DB4484 *1964

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

, American singer, on the album ''

Scouting Along with Burl Ives ''Scouting Along with Burl Ives'' is a 1964 album, subtitled ''The Official Boy Scout Album''. Ives was commissioned by the Boy Scouts of America to make this album, which is now available on CD at ScoutStuff.org. Ives is accompanied by a choir o ...

'' *1979 Raffi, Canadian singer-lyricist, on the album ''The Corner Grocery Store'', as "The Corner Grocery Store" *1985 The Band of the Royal Corps of Signals, as an item in a

musical medley In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumentals. A medley which is a remixed series is ...

*Other recordings have been made

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quartermaster's Store, The British songs Songs of World War I Satirical songs List songs English children's songs