Sink the Bismark!

[HawkerHurricane]

In May of nineteen forty-one the war had just begun
The Germans had the biggest ships
That had the biggest guns
The Bismark was the fastest ship
That ever sailed the seas
On her deck were guns as big as steers
And shells as big as trees
Out of the cold and foggy night
Came the british ship the Hood
And ev'ry british seaman he knew and understood
They had to sink the Bismark the terror of the sea
Stop those guns as bid as steers
And those shells as big as trees

We'll find that German battleship
That's makin' such a fuss
We gotta sink the Bismark
'Cause the world depends on us
Hit the decks a-runnin' boys
And spin those guns around
When we find the Bismark we gotta cut her down

The Hood found the Bismark and on that fatal day
The Bismark started firin' fifteen miles away
We gotta sink the Bismark was the battle sound
But when the smoke had cleared away
The mighty Hood went down
For six long days and weary nights
They tried to find her trail
Churchill told the people put ev'ry ship a-sail
'Cause somewhere on that ocean
I know she's gotta be
We gotta sink the Bismark to the bottom of the sea

We'll find that German battleship
That's makin' such a fuss
We gotta sink the Bismark
'Cause the world depends on us
Hit the decks a-runnin' boys
And spin those guns around
When we find the Bismark we gotta cut her down

The fog was gone the seventh day
And they saw the mornin' sun
Ten hours away from homeland
The Bismark made its run
The admiral of the british fleet said
Turn those bows around
We found that German battleship
And we're gonna cut her down

The british guns were aimed
And the shells were comin' fast
The first shell hit the Bismark
They knew she couldn't last
That mighty German battleship is just a memory
Sink the Bismark was the battle cry
That shook the seven seas

We found that German battleship
Was makin' such a fuss
We had to sink the Bismark
'Cause the world depends on us
We hit the deck a-runnin' and
We spun those guns around
We found the mighty Bismark
And then we cut her down

We found that German battleship
Was makin' such a fuss
We had to sink the Bismark
'Cause the world depends on us
We hit the deck a-runnin' and
We spun those guns around
We found the mighty Bismark
And then we cut her down

by Johnny Horton and Tilman Franks

[pfitz59]

1. Achille's Heel......

Rudder chains! Even the strongest ship has a weak point......

[Big_AJ]

3. It was

a slow & obsolete biplane from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal that hit and jammed the rudder mechanism. That's what allowed the British fleet to catch up and sink her.

Note that's not mentioned oin the lyrics.

AJ

[Zomby Woof]

4. some of his lyrics are best not mentioned

Google a song list of his... I won't even repeat the title here.

[HawkerHurricane]

6. Well, if you are going to mention mistakes...

Bismark was armed with eight 15" guns in her main battery... Not the largest guns (at the time, the British, Americans and Japanese navies had ships with 16" guns).
Bismark was not the 'fastest battleship'; the Japanese 'Kongo' class was faster, as was the American 'North Carolina' class.
No mention is made of HMS Prince of Wales, which was traveling with HMS Hood.
No mention is made of HMS Nelson and HMS King George V, which were the two ships that finished her off.
And, of course, the Fairey Swordfish biplanes off HMS Ark Royal that torpedoed her, enabling the battleships to catch her.

[VelmaD]

2. My mom loves Johnny Horton

I can remember hearing that song (and the Battle of New Orleans) all the time when I was a little kid. Thanks for posting this and bringing back wonderful childhood memories. :-)

[Lostmessage]

5. I thought that this was an x rated thread at first

It's an old term for something naughty.

[TheMightyFavog]

7. I remeber John Landis saying

that the They shot this song for The Blues Brothers where the band performed ia at Bob's Country Bunker. Had the film for which this scene not been destroyed, it would have most certianly made it on to the special edition DVD.

[Archae]

8. I have on video

The National Geographic special, when Robert Ballard (who found the Titanic) found the wreck of the Bismarck.

Tragic tale.

I also have a show from the Discovery Channel where the wreck of the Hood was explored.
It's really a mess.

[TheMightyFavog]

9. IIRC,

The German Government ordered Ballard to keep the Bismarck's exact location secret for some reason. I wonder why?

[HawkerHurricane]

10. To prevent looting of the site...

by people less scrouplous than Ballard.