Soldiers have always been lazy. It was the Romans that first noticed this problem, and investigated ways of getting their elite forces up in the morning. It must have made a big difference - they conquered most of Western Europe!
The Roman system probably used some sort of drum and trumpet call, as evidence suggests much of the troop organisation was done through pre-arranged melodies and rhythms. This is then the first example of a Reveille; a musical passage used to wake up troops in the morning.
The word comes from réveillez the French for "to wake", although it is unclear at what point a dyslexic and deaf officer butchered the imperative second person plural form of the verb to give is the word we have today.
The modern British Reveille has roots in the sevententh century, although it has changed over the years. Its words are as follows:
Rev-eil-lee! Rev-eil-lee is sounding.
The bugle calls you from your sleep; it is the break of day.
You've got to do your duty or you will get no pay.
Come, wake yourself, rouse yourself out of your sleep
And throw off the blankets and take a good peek at all
The bright signs of the break of day, so get up and do not delay.
Get Up!
Or-der-ly officer is on his round!
And if you're still a-bed he will send you to the guard
And then you'll get a drill and that will be a bitter pill:
So be up when he comes, be up when he comes,
Like a soldier at his post, a soldier at his post, all ser-ene.
It is not yet clear who is supposed to sing or play this, as everyone is supposed to be asleep.
This is obviously long enough to wake you up and put you back to sleep again, so a shortened version, the Rouse was created, with only three lines of words and a very catchy tune. Most people will associate the Reveille with the military parades, as it is played following the minute's silence after the Last Post. However, this tune is actually the Rouse, which is chosen because of its conciseness.