Colonel Bogey March

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The "Colonel Bogey March" is one of the most popular marches ever published. It was written in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (1881-1945), a military bandmaster who was Director of Music for the Royal Marines at Plymouth. Since at that time Service personnel were not encouraged to have professional lives outside the armed forces, Ricketts published "Colonel Bogey" and his other compositions under the pseudonym Kenneth Alford.

Supposedly, the tune was inspired by a military man and golfer who whistled a characteristic two-note phrase (a descending minor third interval) instead of shouting "Fore!". It is this phrase that begins each line of the melody. Bogey is golfing term meaning "one over par".

The sheet music was a million-seller and the march was recorded many times. "Colonel Bogey" is the authorized march of The King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC) of the Canadian Forces.

Many humorous or satirical verses have been sung to this tune, most of them vulgar. The best known, which originated in England at the outset of World War II goes by the title "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball". A later parody, sung by schoolchildren in the United States, is called "Comet", and deals with the effects of consuming a popular brand of household cleanser.

The English composer Malcolm Arnold added a counter-melody for use in the 1957 dramatic movie The Bridge on the River Kwai, which was set during World War II. Although the vulgar lyrics were not used in the film, audiences of the time fully understood the subtextual humour of "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball" being sung by prisoners of war. To this day, Arnold's additional score is still strongly identified with the march's use in the movie, symbolizing indomitability in the face of oppression and hardship, although many people don't realise the film version is not the original. Arnold also wrote a march of his own for use in this movie, which is called "The River Kwai March". This piece has nothing to do with the Rickett/Alford march, but, due to the fame of the film, many people now incorrectly refer to the "Colonel Bogey March" as "The River Kwai March".

Because the film concerned prisoners of war being held under inhumane conditions by the Japanese, there was a minor diplomatic flap in the early 1970s when the "Colonel Bogey March" was played—perhaps to cause embarrassment, perhaps not—during a visit by the Japanese prime minister to Australia.

The tune was used to great effect in an episode of the UK cult TV series The Avengers and in the U.S. movies The Parent Trap, The Breakfast Club and Spaceballs. It has also been frequently used in British and American television commercials, including for MasterCard, Miracle Whip, and Getty Oil. It was the theme to The Johnny LaRue Show sketch on SCTV, and for the BBC2 sitcom Hyperdrive. On a Weekend Update sketch Tina Fey and Amy Poehler sing "The Bobo Shoes" song to the tune of "Colonel Bogey March". On The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the ULA Peacocks Football fight song is to the tune of "Colonel Bogey March".

Similarly this song is covered a lot in other genres of music (not just military chants), amongst these are the punk/oi band Cock Sparrer with their cover of it on the album Shock Troops.