THE BATTLE HYMN OF IATA
(First published in “Centreline” August 1965)
Seen the subsidies a-growin’ as the Boeings multiplied,
While the sinful Independants slowly crawled away and died.
And the Concord’s yet to come!
CHORUS - Glory, glory, Halleluja.
Glory, glory, Halleluja.
Glory, glory, Halleluja,
The Concord’s yet to come!
Oh praise the Lord IATA, in benevolence Divine
He has laid out all the airways in a mystical design
Just to stop your Superduper Jet colliding into mine,
But the Concord’s yet to come.
Don’t you hear IATA calling True Believers to repent
For you cannot buy Salvation when your subsidy is spent,
You must praise the Lord IATA with a Letter of Intent
For the Concord yet to come.
Come all ye True Believers, there is Glory to be won!
You can tell your lowly tourists the Millennia has come
When they’re shot across the ocean like a bullet from a gun
In the Concord yet to come!
Now the Yanks are out of pocket on each rocket that they’ve lost.
So we British play it cooler, outer space is just a “frost”,
We are sending into orbit very little but the cost
Of the Concord yet to come.
Oh, tremble, little Sinner-men, you surely ought to know
That your ears have heard the whisper that is shortly going to grow
To a supersonic Thunder making Hell-on-earth below,
For the Concord’s sure to come!
Were you there at London (Gatwick) where the Sinner-men had fled?
Did you hear the clap of thunder from IATA overhead?
And the Government Pronouncement strike the Independants dead?
For the Concord’s got to come …
They await the final battle, they await the Crack-of-Doom.
When the Terrible IATA breaks the Silence of the Tomb,
He will signal Armageddon with the supersonic “BOOM!”
Of the Concord yet to come.
Oh tell me truly, Brother, do you tremble with delight
When you take as holy gospel every prophesy in “FLIGHT”?
If you do, then – HALLELUJA! You have TRULY SEEN THE LIGHT!
And the Concord’s SURE TO COME!
GLORY, GLORY, HALLELUJA!
GLORY, GLORY, HALLELUJA!
GLORY, GLORY, HALLELUJA!
THE CONCORD’S SURE TO COME!
THE BATTLE HYMN OF IATA …
(as re-published in “Winged Words” April 1974)
Mine eyes have seen the glory of IATA in his pride,seen the subsidies a-growin’ as the Boeings multiplied,
while the sinful Independents slowly crawled away and died.
And the Concord’s yet to come!
CHORUS - Glory, glory, Halleluja.
Glory, glory, Halleluja.
Glory, glory, Halleluja,
the Concord’s yet to come!
Oh praise the Lord IATA, in benevolence Divine
he has laid out all the airways in a mystical design
just to send your Super DC-8 colliding into mine, (*)
and the Concord’s yet to come.
Don’t you hear IATA calling every sinner to repent (*)
for you cannot buy Salvation when your subsidy is spent;
you must praise the Lord IATA with a Letter of Intent
for the Concord yet to come.
Come all ye True Believers, there is Glory to be won!
You can tell your lowly tourists the Millennium has come
when they’re shot across the ocean like a bullet from a gun
in the Concord yet to come!
Now the Yanks are out of pocket on each rocket that they’ve lost.
So we British play it cooler, outer space is just a “frost”;
We are sending into orbit very little but the cost
of the Concord yet to come.
Oh, tremble, little Sinner-man, you surely ought to know
That your ears have heard the whisper that is shortly going to grow
To a supersonic Thunder making Hell-on-earth below,
for the Concord’s sure to come!
Were you there at Gatwick airport where the Sinner-men had fled?
Did you hear the clap of thunder from IATA overhead?
Did you see the bits of Boeing striking every sinner dead?
and the Concord’s got to come …
Yet the mercy of IATA is a wonder to record,
for he took a holy DC-8 with everyone aboard
through a field of holy cabbage to the bosom of the Lord,
and the Concord’s yet to come
They await the final battle, they await the Crack-of-Doom.
When the Terrible IATA breaks the Silence of the Tomb,
he will signal Armageddon with the supersonic “BOOM!”
of the Concord yet to come.
Oh tell me truly, Brother, do you tremble with delight?
when you take as holy gospel every prophesy in “FLIGHT”?
IF you do, then – HALLELUJA! You have TRULY SEEN THE LIGHT!
And the Concord’s SURE TO COME!
GLORY, GLORY, HALLELUJA!
GLORY, GLORY, HALLELUJA!
GLORY, GLORY, HALLELUJA!
THE CONCORD’S SURE TO COME!
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EDITOR’S NOTES [1974]: this song was composed over a period
with considerable amendments, additions and rearrangement. Alternative versions
are (st.2, l.3-4) “Just to stop your Superduper Jet colliding into mine/ but
the Concord’s yet to come”, (st.3, l.1) “True Believers” instead of “every
sinner”; (st.7, l.3) “And the Government’s Pronouncement strike the
Independents dead?”. Stanzas 4, 5 and 9 were added some time after the original
draft; and st.8 was omitted when the song appeared in an amateur publication in
1965.
[EDITOR’S NOTES [2013]: it is probably true to say that
the version of the song published in “Centreline” was the one that Croghan
considered final. His amendment to st.2 reversed the originally intended
meaning – i.e. he originally suggested that “IATA” has NOT achieved safety in
laying out the airways, but in the revised version stated that he HAD;
likewise, the omission of st. 8, which referred to a non-fatal accident near
London airport, and the original wording of st.7, did not sit well with the
revised meaning. In retrospect, when attempting to reproduce the song in its
original form with the original meaning I would have done better not to
have included stanzas 4, 5 and 9.]
