Examples Of The Military Cadence "Seen An Old Lady Walkin' Down The Street"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases various text (word only) examples and YouTube sound files of the United States military cadence "Seen An Old Lady Walkin Down The Street" (or similar titles).

The examples of this military cadence that I have found online are from the following United State military branches (given in alphabetical order) - the Air Force, the Army, and the Marines.

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The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and motivational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the original composer/s of this cadence and thanks to all those quoted in this post and all those who are featured in these sound files.

Thanks also to all those who have honorably served and who are honorably serving in the United States Marine Corps and in other branches of the United States military.

Please add to this collection by sharing the examples you know in the comment section. Remember, this is a family friendly cultural blog. Therefore, as per the policies of this blog, I don't accept comments/examples that include profanity fully spelled out or comments/examples that contain explicit sexual content.

Also, note that some military cadences include sexual references and curse words (profanity). As per the policy of this blog- I use amended spelling for curse words or indicated that "profanity is deleted".

Click the "military cadences" tag below for additional examples of United States military cadences.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENTS
The United States military cadences that I've read or heard via YouTube use an "echo" call & response pattern. This call & response pattern is often found in African and African Diaspora vocal music. By "echo" call & response, I mean that the group (responders) repeat every line that the leader (caller) sings in exactly the same way that he (or she) sings those lines.

Some call & response cadences are composed of changeable rhyming and near rhyming couplets (two line rhyming or near rhyming verses) and a relatively fixed refrain (such as "lo right layo" ("left right left). The refrain may be sung at the beginning of the cadence, (and/or) at the end of the cadence, (and/or) after each rhyming or near rhyming couplet, or after a certain number of rhyming/or near rhyming couplets. But some call & response cadences have no fixed refrain, and only consists of the group exactly repeating each line that caller (leader) sings.

The examples of the "Seen [or "Saw"} An Old Lady Walkin Down The Street" that I have read or heard on YouTube have a series of rhyming or near rhyming couplets that constitute "verses". But these examples don't have any responding refrain (such as "Lo right layo").

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TEXT (WORDS ONLY) EXAMPLES OF "SEEN AN OLD LADY WALKIN' DOWN THE STREET
These examples are given in no particular order. Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only.

I reformatted the lyrics in each of these examples to add a space after each rhyming/near rhyming couplet so that they would be more clearly seen. This doesn't mean that there is any space between how these lines are sung/chanted.

Text Example #1:
From http://www.army-cadence.com/saw-an-old-lady/

Old Lady (Marine Running Cadence)

I saw an old lady walkin’ down the street.
She had a chute on her back, and jump boots on her feet.

I said, “Hey, Old Lady, where you goin’ to?”
She said, “I’m goin’ to the Army Airborne School.”

I said, “Hey, Old Lady, I think you’re too old;
You’d better leave that stuff to the brave and the bold.”

She said, “Listen, Sonny, I’m talking to you;
I’m an instructor at the Airborne School.”


I saw the same old lady walkin’ down the street.
She had a pack on her back, jungle boots on her feet.

I said, “Hey, Old Lady, where you goin’ to?”
She said, “I’m goin’ to Marine Corps Recon School.”

I said, “Hey, Old Lady, I think you’re too old;
You’d better leave that stuff to the brave and the bold.”

She said, “Listen, Sonny, I’m talking to you;
I’m an instructor at the Recon School.”


I saw the old lady walkin’ down the street.
She had a tank on her back, and fins on her feet.

I said, “Hey, Old Lady, where you goin’ to?”
She said, “I’m goin to the Navy Diving School.”

I said, “Hey, Old Lady, I think you’re too old;
You’d better leave that stuff to the brave and the bold.”

She said, “Listen, Sonny, I’m talking to you;
I’m an instructor at the Diving School.”

I turned to leave, and she spun me around;
She kicked me in the head, and threw me to the ground.

I looked up through my tears, and with a voice full of fear,
I begged, “Please, Old Lady, don’t kill me right here.”

She said, “Listen, Sonny, don’t you mess with me;
I’m Airborne, Recon, and UDT!”

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Text Example #2: SAW AN OLD LADY [Army]
From http://www.radford.edu/content/chbs/home/rotc/cadets/creeds-cadences.html

Saw an old lady running down the street
Had a cute on her back, jump boots on her feet

Said, "Hey old lady where you goin' to?"
She said "US Army Airborne School"

"Whatcha gonno do when you get there?"
"Jump from a plane, float through the air"

I said "Hey old lady ain't you been told?
Airborne School's for the young and the bold"

She said "Hey young punk who you talkin' to?
I'm an instructor at the Airborne School"


Saw an old lady marching down the road
Had a knife in her hand and a 90lb load

Said, "Hey old lady where you goin' to?"
She said "US Army Ranger School"

"Whatcha gonna do when you get there?"
"Jump and swim and kill without care"

I said "Hey old lady ain't you been told?
Ranger School's for the young and the bold"

She said "Hey young punk who you talkin' to?
I'm an instructor at the Ranger School"

Saw on old lady running down the track
Had fins on her feet and a tank on her back

Said, "Hey old lady where you goin' to?"
She said "US Army scuba School"

"Whatcha gonno do when you get there?"
"Swim under water and never breathe air"

I said, "Hey old lady ain't you been told?
Scuba School's for the young and the bold"

She said "Hey young punk who you talkin' to?
I'm an instructor at the Scuba School"

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Text Example #3: Seen An Old Lady
From http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/cadence/running_cadence/seen-an-old-lady.shtml
Army Study Guide
Created by: PFC Deason

I Seen an old lady walkin down the street
She had a ruck on her back, jump boots on her feet.

I said hey old lady where you goin to
She said US Army Airborne school

I said hey old lady dont you think you're too old
You better leave that jumpin to the young and the bold

She said hey young punk who you talkin to
I'm a Jumpmaster from Airborne school.


Then I seen an old lady walkin down the street
She had ropes in her hand, jump boots on her feet.

I said hey old lady where you goin to
She sais US Army Air Assault school

I said hey old lady dont you think you're too old
You better leave that slidin to the young and the bold

She said hey young punk who you talkin to
I'm an instructor from Air Assault school


Then I seen an old lady walkin down the street
She had a tank on her back, and fins on her feet

I said hey old lady where you goin to
She said US Army scuba school

I said hey old lady dont you think you're too old
You better leave that divin to the young and the bold

She said hey young punk who you talkin to
I'm an instructor from scuba school
-snip-
Several additional examples of this cadence are found below.

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SHOWCASE SOUND FILES (WITH TRANSCRIPTIONS & SELECTED COMMENTS)
Sound File Example #1: SEEN AN OLD LADY CADENCE [Army]

Seen An Old Lady Cadence (With Lyrics)



letseewhathappens101, Uploaded on Feb 13, 2010

I have gotten many requests from people to email them a cadence so I have added a download link enjoy and thanks for watching.

This is the transcription that is given in the summary. Repeat every line, except the words “I said” or “she said” words.

Seen an old lady running down the street da
Had a ruck on her back, jump boots on her feet
I said, "Old lady where you goin' to?"
She said "US Army Airborne School"

I said "Hey old lady ain't you been told?
Airborne School's for the young and the bold"
She said "Hey young punk who you talkin' to?
I'm an instructor at the Airborne School"
‘Cause I’m hard core
Lean and mean
Fit to fight
Rock
steady
Rollin
Ready
Seen an old lady walkin down the street da
She had a ruck on her back and jump boots on her feet.
I said, "Old lady where you goin' to?"
She said "US Army Ranger School."
I said “Hey old lady ain’t you been told?

The Ranger Schools for the young and the bold.”
She said "Hey young punk who you talkin' to?
I'm an instructor at the Ranger School"
‘Cause I’m hard core
Lean and mean
Fit to fight
Rock
steady
Rollin
Ready
Ready
Easy

Seen an old woman walkin down the street da
She had tanks on her back and fins on her feet
I said, "Old lady where you goin' to?"
She said "US Army Scuba School"
I said, "Hey old lady ain't you been told?
Scuba School's for the strong and the bold"
She said "Hey young punk who you talkin' to?
I'm an instructor at the Scuba School"
‘Cause I’m hard core
Lean and mean
Fit to fight
Rock
Steady
Rock
Steady
Rollin
Ready
‘Cause I’m hardcore
Lean and* mean
Fit to fight
Lookin good
Ought to be
Hollywood
- snip-
The phrase "rock steady" is also found in some versions of the military cadence “Mama Told Sally Not To Go Downtown” (and probably some other cadences). That phrase is probably lifted either from Aretha Franklin's 1972 R&B record with that title or The Whispers' 1987 R&B record with that title. I think it's unlikely that the phrase "rock steady" is from the Jamaican "Rock Steady" music genre. That music genre came around 1966 after Ska and and before Reggae.

-snip-
Here are selected comments from this sound file's discussion thread (Numbers assigned for referencing purposes only.)
1. love, 2011
"what cd is this from?"

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Reply
2. letseewhathappens101, 2011
"@WhitneyDoll25 Its off a cadence CD i got while at Fort Knox called Modern Military Cadence."

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3.ConnahWeeden, 2013
"Why do you sing as you run? Wouldn't that stuff up your rythm?"

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Reply
4. Brody Zimmerman, 2013
"It helps you stay motivated and "singing a cadence while running or marching helps soldiers keep their heads up, take deeper breathes and exhale more forcefully. This increases oxygen to the lungs and gives the body more energy."

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Reply
5. kiridoodle, 2016
"ConnahWeeden quite the contrary, running and singing helps keep a steady pace and helps us get farther in the run. For people who get too caught up and worry about the running part, cadence helps them take their minds off it and focus on something else. (I'm not in the Army but my JROTC Raider team sings cadence when we run)"

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6. Bob Sergeant, 2013
"The second stanza is often sung thus:

Saw an old lady marching down the road
Had a knife in her hand and a 90 lb. load
Said, "Hey old lady, where you goin' to?"
She said, "US Army Ranger School"
Whatcha gonna do when you get there?
Jump, swim, and kill without a care
I said, "Hey old lady, ain't you been told?
Ranger School's for the brave and the bold."
She said, "Hey, now soldier, don't be a fool,
I'm an instructor at Ranger School!"

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Sound File Example #2: Saw An Old Lady Walkin' Down the Street (Air Force)



Hard Corp Cadences Published on Aug 26, 2015
-snip-
Here is my transcription of this cadence (with the group repeating each line that is given below)

Saw an old woman walkin down the street
She had a pack on her back and boots on her feet
I said, "Old lady where you goin' to?"
She said "US Air Force to the rescue"
I said, "Ah ha”
“Ah ha”
Ah ha
Ah ha

I said “Hey old lady don’t you think you’re too old?”
You better leave that stuff to the young and the bold.”
She said Hey air man who you talkin to
She said I’m an instructor at per rescues
She said Ah ha
Ah ha
Ah ha
Ah ha

I saw an old man walkin down the street
He had tanks on his back and fins on his feet
I said “Hey old man where you going to
He said US Air Force scuba school
He said Ah ha
Ah ha
Ah ha
Ah ha
Ah ha
Ah ha
Ah ha

Hey old man don’t you think you’re too old
You better leave that stuff to the young and the bold.”
He said Hey air man who you talkin to
He said I’m an instructor at Scuba school
He said Ah ha
Ah ha
Ah ha
Ah ha
-snip-
Here are selected comments from this sound file's discussion thread (Numbers assigned for referencing purposes only.)
1. rtscaptain, 2013
This is a running cadence for those asking. Hence sung at a double time pace.

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2. Vincent Palacios, 2016
"Is this a running cadence or walking, im pretty sure its running but im not completely sure, also what about the drive on cadence"

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Reply
3. Isaac Mabry, 2016
"(Double time)Running cadence"

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Reply
4. Hunter Hediger, 2016
"can be both, speed up for running, slow for marching.
drive on is marching"

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5. Theseus9, 2017
"In the entire time of 3 years in the Marine Corps infantry (3rd Bn. 8th Mar) I never heard this one,....then I went to 3rd Recon, and we didn't do cadence...we just did ruck runs silent."

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Reply
6. Don, 2017
"So, would you say that in general, Recon depended less on motivational devices like cadence and depended more on sheer will and hard discipline? Please do elaborate, I'm curious as to what separates Recon from the rest, mentally."

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Reply
10. Theseus9, 2017
"+Don Well, I personally liked singing cadence when I was in the infantry, not necessarily did it motivate me, but it actually helps your breathing. Recon in a way is more individual, yes you have camaraderie and work in a team, but as for motivation it's a personal desire to be where you are and to get the mission done."

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Reply
11. Don, 2017
"+Theseus9 Interesting. Yes I've figured cadence could be useful for breathing and shouting while on the move in combat, that's why even as nonmilitary I sing them. They are pleasing as well. Thanks for the response, it is fascinating stuff. Seems almost as if Recon and other elite groups are so overpowered through sheer iron will that they need no outer motivation. Quite the role models you guys make."

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12. CyberManiac, 2017
"Did lyrics just like this, just added in CCT (Special Operations Training) and left it AHHA!"

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