Sunday, June 15, 2008

ENGINEERS HAVE HAIRY EARS

I've heard the phrase many times since my graduation as an electrical engineer back in 1968. I'd always thought that it was from Ogden Nash, but the origin is much older - and mostly unprintable. Most recently it has been associated with the Army's engineering battalions, dating back to (at least) WW I. Here are two of the least bawdy variants:

The Engineers have hairy ears,
they live in caves and ditches,
But when the trouble starts,
they fight like sons of witches

- An Anonymous WWI Soldier

The Engineers have hairy ears
They live in caves and ditches
They wipe their ass with broken glass
They're rugged sons of bitches.

- 36h Engineer Combat Regiment (WW II)
- Motto: RUGGED

There is some evidence that the origin may be an Ozark folksong, The Mountaineers, which is quite bawdy.
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16 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:52 PM

    My WWII veteran father (Field Artillery; OCS), would sing it as follows: The engineers have hairy ears/They slap their leather britches/They wipe their ass on broken glass/And laugh, because it itches.

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  2. Shadow's World6:52 AM

    Thanks for the update.

    MH

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  3. Anonymous3:34 PM

    My mother sang:
    Mountaineers have hairy ears
    And live in caves and ditches.
    They spend their time in making wine
    And sewing dainty stiches.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous9:36 PM

    My memory of the poem dates bck to the late 1940's, and the engineering school at VirginiaTech - All I recall is the first line "Oh engineers have hairy ears and something or other, something or other' and the last one which was "But awfully odd, because by God, they don't like engineering." Does this ring a bell with anyone?

    The Old Hokie

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    Replies
    1. Shadow's World8:06 PM

      Not with me, unfortunately, and I too am an A&M (Morrill Act) graduate, only New Mexico State in my case. I'd bet (guess) that the version you recall was created by someone at Virginia Tech, since the orgin of the ditty seems to have been in the Appalachians.

      I have to admit that the version I recall starts with "Engineers have hairy ears" and I can't recall the rest. If you remember any more, please post it here.

      MH (an old Aggie)

      Delete
    2. Shadow's World8:09 PM

      Oh, and for the record, I written some 22,000 posts since I started. The "Engineers have hairy ears" is by far the most read post. I wish more visitors would provide their comments...

      Thank you for yours.

      MH

      Delete
  5. Anonymous10:16 PM

    As a kid, I heard it from my grandfather as "Engineers, they have long ears, they lives in caves and ditches; they wipes their ass on broken glass, the hardy sons of bitches." I got the impression he heard it when he worked on the Mexican railroad in 1908 (and was subsequently run out of country with the other gringos by Pancho Villa).

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  6. Anonymous1:31 PM

    I'm reading some old classic comics at the Grand Comics Database (comicbooksplus.com), and one of the stories in "This is War" #6, October, 1952, has a story entitlled, "Engineers Have Hairy Ears" referring to the combat engineers in Korea. It doesn't explain it, it's just the first time I'd heard the expression. We're a family full Georgia Tech fans and grads and it's definitely a new one to me (maybe because I'm a Medical College of Georgia grad?). If interested,you can read the comic for free along with a lot of other public domain ones back to the 1930s at that website. An interesting study of Americana.

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  7. Unknown3:28 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. Unknown3:31 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. Unknown3:32 AM

    I read the Sand Pebbles (set in 1926) and encountered the characters singing a version. They sailed up and down the Hunan river in China. One verse went like this-

    "We Hunaneers, we have no fears, we do not stick at trifles

    We hang our balls upon the walls and shoot at them with rifles"

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  10. slenzi9:46 PM

    The Engineers have airy rears
    They live in caves and ditches
    They drag their cocks across the rocks
    They’re hearty sons of bitches

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous10:57 PM

    My grandfather's (who was a WWII and Korean war vet) always said:
    Engineers, they have long ears,
    they live in caves and ditches,
    - those dirty so-and-sos.

    He always got a kick out of it and I suspect he wasn't telling his little grandchildren the "real" version

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  12. Unknown5:21 PM

    My stepfather taught it to us this way:
    We’re the engineers with harry ears.
    We never bother with trifles.
    We blow them up with hand grenades,
    and shoot them down with rifles.

    If any foreign son of a bitch,
    Don’t like my fuckin’ brass,
    They can pucker up their pearly lips,
    And kiss my royal ass.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous7:06 PM

    My Grandfather was a cannoneer in France in 1918 as a 17 year old. His version was, ".. The cannoneers have hairy ears/ They slap thier leather breeches--".

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