It's that time of year again and this history-obsessed picker took a little time to honour the incredible men and women of the British Royal Navy, who in late May, 1941, devoted every effort and made enormous sacrifice to hunt down and sink the new, enormously powerful German battleship, Bismarck.

By the time the battle on the great grey Atlantic was over on the 28th, about 2000 British and 2000 German sailors had died. Battlecruiser HMS Hood, pride of the RN had sunk with only 3 survivors. Only a hundred-something of Bismarck's crew survived. Additionally, the destroyer HMS Mashona was lost and more killed aboard HMS Prince Of Wales.

But at the time the movie was released in the early 60s, C-W singer Johnny Horton did a very popular pop-country song called, "Sink THe Bismarck."

There were a few electric guitar fills in the song. Anybody know who played them and maybe on what gear?

Thanks, folks.

great WWII movie i can't remember how the song went but it was popular at the time , thanks for the info.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

We hit the decks a'runnin' boys,
We swung those guns around.
We found the Mighty Bismarck
And we're goin' to cut her down!

Gridlok (I don't know if I'm more amazed at the things I remember, or the things I forget. )

Theres a special treat. A RARE recording of the Blues Brothers playing "Sink The Bismarck"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cs_es5DR8U

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Just a amatuer looking for tips

Current Gear:
1968 Kay Strat
Kramer Focus 111S
Johnson 15w amp
Squier Black and Chrone Special Tele

Thanks JSJH and tilt one back to all the servicemen who paid for freedom with their blood.

Hello Nrt4,

Thanks for that link
it was a good listen.

Cheers.

Picked from the internet, the lyrics. 'Still not able to find who the guitarist was or what instrument-amp.

The great Johnny Horton took a few liberties when getting things to rhyme. For example:

In May of 1941, WW II had been raging since Sept. 1, 1939. In Europe, Poland, Belgium, Norway, France and the Netherlands had fallen. Hardly, "just begun."
Bismarck was arguably "the biggest ship" in the Atlantic. The Japanese Yamato and Musashi far out-sized Bismarck, as did 4 American battleships being built.
Bismarck's main guns were 8 of the the excellent 38cm Krupp tubes. Three US, two Japanese and two British battleships mounted larger 40.6 cm main armament and the Japanese Yamato had super-enormous 46 cm.
Bismarck was fast, but most cruisers, alll destroyers and a couple capital ships could outrun the German giant.

But yes, the "jolly Jack tars" of the Royal Navy did indeed "hit the decks a-runnin'" and they did on May 27, 1941, "spin those guns around." And mighty HMS Rodney and HMS KIng George V...

...did "cut her down."


For your reading....

In May of 1941 the war had just begun
The Germans had the biggest ship that had the biggest guns
The Bismarck was the fastest ship that ever sailed the sea
On her decks were guns as big as steers and shells as big as trees

Out of the cold and foggy night came the British ship the Hood
And every British seaman he knew and understood
They had to sink the Bismarck the terror of the sea
Stop those guns as big as steers and those shells as big as trees
We'll find the German battleship that's makin' such a fuss
We gotta sink the Bismarck cause the world depends on us
Yeah hit the decks a runnin' boys and spin those guns around
When we find the Bismarck we gotta cut her down

The Hood found the Bismarck and on that fatal day
The Bismarck started firing fifteen miles away
We gotta sink the Bismarck was the battle sound
But when the smoke had cleared away the mighty Hood went down
For six long days and weary nights they tried to find her trail
Churchill told the people put every ship asail
Cause somewhere on that ocean I know she's gotta be
We gotta sink the Bismarck to the bottom of the sea
We'll find the German battleship...

The fog was gone the seventh day and they saw the morning sun
Ten hours away from homeland the Bismarck made its run
The Admiral of the British fleet said turn those bows around
We found that German battleship and we're gonna cut her down
The British guns were aimed and the shells were coming fast
The first shell hit the Bismarck they knew she couldn't last
That mighty German battleship is just a memory
Sink the Bismarck was the battle cry that shook the seven seas
We found the German battleship t'was makin' such a fuss
We had to sink the Bismarck cause the world depends on us
We hit the deck a runnin' and we spun those guns around
Yeah we found the mighty Bismarck and then we cut her down
We found the German battleship...

I'll bet Johnny was speaking from an American point of view when he said "the War had just begun". We didn't officially join the fray until December 1941.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

I do not know but I have the old album at home. I will look when I get off work and see if the cover or liner hold the information you seek.

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Ignorance IS bliss - and I am the happiest person here!

Thanks JSJH, I enjoyed reading that.

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Hi JSJH. This has been an interesting reminder: thank you.

So happens, just had my own little WWII history catch up, earlier today. I was visiting a beach in the South West of England which Allied forces used in 1944 to practice for the forthcoming D-Day landings. There was a tragedy on April 28 1944 when due to naval bungling German E-Boats got in amongst landing craft during an exercise and sank some, resulting in 638 US deaths.

Local people remember it to this day: with no support from either of our governments locals lead by a gentleman called Ken Small took it upon themselves to recover a sunken Sherman tank and set it up as a memorial to those who died.

If I'd known I'd be writing about it here I'd have taken a photo to show you: however, that memorial can be seen halfway down this Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_Tiger

A fresh wreath was there today and has been other times I've seen it: and each year on Remembrance Sunday (on or around November 11) veterans gather there to commemorate those who were lost. They are sometimes joined by US servicemen.

People don't forget.

Cheers - C