"Old soldiers never die ..."
Posted by James Briggs on January 11, 2002
In Reply to: "Old soldiers never die ..." posted by Bob on January 11, 2002
: : : : I have long been wondering about the origin of the often-used phrase "old ... never die; they just".
: : : : In my school, there used to be an inscription saying "old teachers never die; they just lose their class".
: : : : Would anyone know the origin of this phrase ? Did anyone famous utter it for the first time ?
: : : : Thanks in advance for any help,
: : : : D. Becker
: : : Back in the early 1900s in Britain there was a phrase - still heard from time to time - 'old soldiers never die, they just fade away'. This may have come from a music hall song, but I'm far from sure. Just a suggestion as to a possible origin.
: : From Eric Partridge's Dictionary of Catch Phrases: American and British, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day:
:
: "'old soldiers never die: they simply fade away' has been extracted from the
British Army's C20 parody of the song 'Kind Thoughts Can Never Die' and the tune
adopted from it . . . This immortal ditty appeared in John Brophy and Eric Partridge,
'Songs and Slang of the British Soldier: 1914-1918,' 1930, and has been preserved
in 'The Long Trail,' lamentably out of print in Britain, but to be reprinted in
the US.
: : It was 'given its first familiarity in US in a speech by General
MacArthur on his recall from Korea; still not forgotten' (Prof. John W. Clark,
1977)."
: The academic version was attributed to a Harvard dean in 1960-61, when alumnus John Kennedy was raiding Harvard for people to appoint to his government: "Old deans never die, they just lose their faculties."
For music and lyrics - but not origin - click on link below
- "Old soldiers
never die ..." James Briggs 01/11/02
- Many thanks for "Old soldiers never die ..." Becker 01/14/02