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Now, friends, if you will listen to me for just one minute please,
I'll sing to you a little song from letters A to Z;
If it chanced that they don't rhyme, don't lay no blame on me,
Because it took me fourteen weeks to get from A to Z.
A is for the Air Force boys with hearts so brave and true,
B is for the battle, and we're bound to win it through;
C is for our country, and we're sure she will withstand,
D is for duty that we pledge unto our land,
E, that stands for England, boys, one nation brave and strong,
F is for the Führer whose time now won't be long;
G that stands for Goering who'll also meet his fate,
H is for the heat that waits them in that fiery place.
I is for the iron and the steel that we can sling,
J is for the justice, boys, that it will surely bring;
K is for the khaki suits our soldier lads must wear,
L is for the lovers who wait their sweethearts over there.
M is for the many things that we must do so without,
N is for the Navy boys who guard the deep blue route;
O is for our officers who stand first in command,
P is for the precious lads that form the army band.
Q is for the questioning that waits for every Hun,
R is for the roundup time when it's too late to run;
S is for the satisfaction we are sure to share,
T is for the time when we will fly right over there.
U is for the Union Jack, we're sure she'll never fall,
V, of course, for victory, and it's for one and all;
W stands for wayward boys who'll be soon homeward bound,
Xs stand for kisses that we will pass around.
Y is for the yellow rats, the laugh will be on them,
Z is for the Ziegfried line that we won't need again;
Of all the letters in this song the one that beats them all,
Is V for victory, the letter that won't let our old flag fall.
Collected in 1950 from Eddy Primroy (1928-1999) of Pouch Cove, NL, and published in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).
In 1960, MacEdward Leach (1897-1967) collected a similar variant in Labrador, which he noted was composed in the Canadian Air Force during World War II. That variant was published as #67, Air Force Alphabet on p.178 of Folk Ballads And Songs Of The Lower Labrador Coast by The National Museum of Canada, (Ottawa, 1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved. The Labrador version has a few different lines; for example, "F it stands for freedom, the time now won't be long" and "G it stands for glory where each shall meet his fate."
