Songs about World War I

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Pamela R
Date: 01 Oct 17 - 11:51 AM

A while ago, around USA's Memorial Day in 2015, I gave a lecture/concert of ballads About WWI and what I learned about the Great War through them. I did not have a videographer present, only my iPad propped up side stage, which was unfortunately close to some humming fan. But I recently learned how to edit video and audio, so I was able to overlay my slide visuals and dampen the hum somewhat, to reconstruct most of the show, which is now posted here:

    The War to End War

Before I started the lecture/concert I played gramophone recordings of popular songs of the era (It's a Long Way from Tipperary, Keep the Home Fires Burning, etc.) with a slide show of recruitment posters. But somehow despite the materials being 100 years old, there was some copyright issue preventing me from posting that section of the program on YouTube. The songwriters of the ballads I performed, on the other hand, have all generously consented to my performing and posting their songs for this program. (If any of the songwriters are Mudcatters, thank you again for allowing me to use your work!)

I'm still hoping to perform this program once or twice before the centennial period is out - I've added two additional songs, readings of trench poetry and letters from soldiers. If I get a better video I'll post it and update here.

Pamela

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: GUEST,Felipa
Date: 14 Dec 16 - 12:00 PM

several lyrics about ww1 nurse Edith Cavell are given on a recent Mudcat discussion thread

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: GUEST,Eric
Date: 13 Dec 16 - 03:29 PM

I do not think anyone has mentioned Mick Ryan's Flanders Tommy. I got it from one of Carolyn Robson's albums. I believe it is from a play he wrote about WW1.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Jack Campin
Date: 13 Dec 16 - 07:37 AM

Some places had a longer WW1 than others. For Anatolia, it went on till 1922 and included the Armenian genocide - which must have been sung about after the event, though I can't name a song off the top of my head.

I've posted Turkish songs of the period here before, and songs from all three sides about the Battle of Gorizia (at its height, deadlier than the first day of the Battle of the Somme).

The nation that suffered the worst casualties in WW1 (by an enormous margin) was Russia. Maybe someone can suggest some Russian songs? Or Bosnian and Serbian ones, given that the war started there?

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: The Sandman
Date: 12 Dec 16 - 04:41 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0ZreQkoUBc

Subject: Lyr Add: WOULD YOU RATHER BE A COLONEL WITH AN...
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 12 Dec 16 - 12:09 PM

John Kirkpatrick recorded this on his album "Tunes from the Trenches" (2015). He medleys it with "Sister Susie's Sewing Shirts for Soldiers." The sheet music can be seen at Indiana University:


WOULD YOU RATHER BE A COLONEL WITH AN EAGLE ON YOUR SHOULDER
OR A PRIVATE WITH A CHICKEN ON YOUR KNEE?
Words, Sidney D. Mitchell; music Archie Gottler, ©1918.
"Successfully sung by Eddie Cantor in Ziegfields Follies"

1. Once I heard a father ask his soldier son,
"Why can't you advance like other boys have done?
You've been a private mighty long.
Won't you tell me what is wrong?"
And then the soldier lad
Said, "Listen to me, Dad."

CHORUS 1: I'd rather be a private than a colonel in the army,
A private has more fun
When his day's work is done,
And when he goes on hikes
In ev'ry town he strikes,
Girls discover him, and just smother him with things he likes,
But girlies act so shy when colonel passes by,
He holds his head so high with dignity.
So would you rather be a colonel with an eagle on your shoulder
Or a private with a chicken on your knee?

2. "Ev'ry night you find some private in the park,
Spooning on a bench where it is nice and dark.
He's just as happy as can be,
With his girlie on his knee,
But the colonel never dares
To mix in such affairs."

CHORUS 2: I'd rather be a private than a colonel in the army,
A colonel out in France
Can never take a chance,
For though his job is great,
He dare not make a date.
All that he can do is just "Parley Voo" then hesitate;
But privates meet the Ma and then they treat the Pa,
And then they "Oo-la-la" with "Wee Marie."
So would you rather be a colonel with an eagle on your shoulder
Or a private with a chicken on your knee?

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: The Sandman
Date: 26 Jun 14 - 07:03 AM

too short for a song but in my opinion the best thing hardy ever wrote.
Christmas: 1924

'Peace upon earth!' was said. We sing it,
And pay a million priests to bring it.
After two thousand years of mass
We've got as far as poison-gas.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jun 14 - 06:00 AM

Perhaps in the spirit of revising history, as The UK government are embarking on with their pet "historians," we can ask Keith A of Hertford to rewrite some of the songs?

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: LadyJean
Date: 25 Jun 14 - 11:45 PM

My mother, who was born the year the Doughboys sailed for France, sang; "Good by Ma
"Good bye Pa.
Good bye mule with your old hee haw.
And fare you well my sweetheart dear,
Ill bring you a king for a souvenir.
I'll bring you a king and a Kaiser too,
And that's about all one feller can do."

She also sang a verse she learned from her uncle who served as an army doctor in both world wars.
"If you want to find the privates I know where they are. I know where they are. I know where they are. If you want to find the privates, I know where they are. They are up to their eyes in mud. I saw them! I saw them, up to their eyes in mud. They were up to their eyes in mud!"

She always knew she'd gotten a bowdlerized versiong. Happily she died before I got the Roberta and Barrand recording where the privates are "hanging on the old barbed wire."

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Mark Ross
Date: 25 Jun 14 - 02:46 PM

And in memory of those who refused to fight, a poem by e.e. cummings;



i sing of Olaf glad and big
whose warmest heart recoiled at war:
a conscientious object-or

his wellbelovéd colonel(trig
westpointer most succinctly bred)
took erring Olaf soon in hand;
but--though an host of overjoyed
noncoms(first knocking on the head
him)do through icy waters roll
that helplessness which others stroke
with brushes recently employed
anent this muddy toiletbowl,
while kindred intellects evoke
allegiance per blunt instruments--
Olaf(being to all intents
a corpse and wanting any rag
upon what God unto him gave)
responds,without getting annoyed
"I will not kiss your fucking flag"

straightway the silver bird looked grave
(departing hurriedly to shave)

but--though all kinds of officers
(a yearning nation's blueeyed pride)
their passive prey did kick and curse
until for wear their clarion
voices and boots were much the worse,
and egged the firstclassprivates on
his rectum wickedly to tease
by means of skilfully applied
bayonets roasted hot with heat--
Olaf(upon what were once knees)
does almost ceaselessly repeat
"there is some shit I will not eat"

our president,being of which
assertions duly notified
threw the yellowsonofabitch
into a dungeon,where he died

Christ(of His mercy infinite)
i pray to see;and Olaf,too

preponderatingly because
unless statistics lie he was
more brave than me:more blond than you.


Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: GUEST,Orange Injun
Date: 25 Jun 14 - 01:28 PM

Anybody know the lyrics to a Scottish soldier's song from the Great War, entitled "Fuckin the Colonel's Wife"?

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Larry The Radio Guy
Date: 20 Feb 14 - 04:29 PM

For a Modern World War 1 song:

Leiber and Stoller wrote a great satirical piece (recorded by Joan Morris and William Bolcom) called "Let's Bring Back World War 1").

Can't find lyrics....but here's a link.


Let's Bring Back World War 1

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Feb 14 - 04:21 PM

Mike Harding - Christmas 1914 absolute classic.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 14 Jan 14 - 02:57 AM

See and read about Irish Peace Tower.
http://www.greatwar.co.uk/ypres-salient/memorial-island-of-ireland-peace-park.htm

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Jan 14 - 09:14 PM

The Lowlands of Flanders
                      by Bruce Scott (1998)
                (melody: "The Streams of Buclody")


On the Lowlands of Flanders there's a place they call Messines,
Where the Peace Tower of Ireland stands proud and serene
To commemorate her soldiers who bravely fought and died:
Now their sons and their daughters can all honour them with pride.

They sailed from old Erin, their green isle across the sea,
From the land of the Shamrock to set small nations free;
From their own divided island, where so many were oppressed,
To the Lowlands of Flanders, where so many lie at rest.

They came from every country, every corner of the world;
on the Lowlands of Flanders into battle they were hurled,
where they did their soldiers duty, as they fought beside the French
in the chaos, and the carnage, and the nightmare of the trench.

They came from every county in their troubled native land:
From the banks of the Liffey and the wide Shannon grand;
From the banks of the Lee and the Lagan they did come,
Where they died in their thousands on the banks of the Somme.

There were men of all religions there who perished in that war
Both Catholic and Protestant from Mother Ireland's shore:
And some, when on returning to their troubled native land,
They were shunned and forsaken, just a poor forgotten band.

Many years have now passed over since the ending of that war
The Great War to end all conflict and win peace for evermore.
Can all Irishmen from North and South agree to live in peace
In the memory of their forefathers, who died that war might cease?

On the lowlands of Flanders stands the Irish tower of peace,
To the memory of those soldiers who died that war might cease;
And their graves are there in thousands where the red poppies bloom,
Where the flower of Irish manhood all went marching to their doom.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Jan 14 - 08:12 AM

Tommys lot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ5xZQVkhak

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Lighter
Date: 08 Jan 14 - 04:29 PM

Interesting!

It's "Texas Rangers" with no changes but "Kentucky" and "Germans."

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: GUEST,Sarah Wood
Date: 08 Jan 14 - 12:45 PM

I learned this one from George Gibson:

The Old German War

Come all of you good people, wherever you may be.
I hope you'll pay attention, and listen unto me.
My name is nothing extra; the truth to you I'll tell.
I am a brave volunteer, and I'm sure I wish you well.

At the age of sixteen, I joined that army grand.
I left old east Kentucky, and I sailed to a far-off land.
Our captain he informed us, and I'm sure he thought it right,
"Before the morning comes boys, I'm sure we'll have to fight."

We saw them Germans coming. Lord, we heard them give their yell.
Our feelings at that moment, no human tongue can tell.
We saw their shining rifles, and their bullets around us flew.
Now all my strength had left me, and all my courage too.

I've been across that great ocean, I've road down streets of hell.
I've been in the midst of battle, I know its trials well.
I've lived a life of misery, and been where death it roamed.
I'll tell you from experience boys, you had better stay at home.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Lighter
Date: 08 Jan 14 - 11:54 AM

Boston Globe, 1923: "American soldiers sang little of home and mother, less of thirst for German blood, and scarcely at all of glory and victory. ...

"The work of American song writers, foisted upon the public, ...failed, for the most part, to take hold with the men who did the fighting."

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: GUEST,C J Martin
Date: 08 Jan 14 - 10:53 AM

I've just written and recorded a song called 'Wrong place wrong time'. It is an imaginary conversation with a fallen soldier from the First World War. I've used real archive footage from World War 1 to make a video for You Tube. Wrong place wrong time

Subject: Lyr Add: YOU'LL FIND OLD DIXIELAND IN FRANCE
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 11 Dec 13 - 07:26 PM

Lyr. Add: YOU'LL FIND OLD DIXIELAND IN FRANCE

Words by Grant Clarke, Music by George W. Meyer
(A French text by Louis Delamarre)

1
No more darkies on the Swanee shore,
No more singin' round the cabin door,
Dixie ain't Dixie now, I vow,
In the village all the streets are bare,
Doesn't seem to be a soul down there,
It made me blue somehow.
I asked Old Mammy Gray
And then I heard her say:

Chorus-
You remember Dancin' Mose?
Folks all called him "Tickle Toes,"
You'll find him "Over There" in France,
Alexander's Band, left old Dixieland,
They used to play the "lovin' Blues" for ev'ryone,
Now they're playin' blues upon a Gatling Gun;
Don't forget "Old Shimmie Sam,"
Famous boy from Alabam,
He marched away in khaki pants,
Instead of pickin' melons off the vine,
They're pickin' Germans off the Rhine,
You'll find old Dixieland in France.

2
Ev'ry ev'ning when the starshells gleam,
You're in Alabama it would seem,
You'll hear the same old coons play tunes,
Billy Johnson with his pet banjo,
Doesn't mind it when the shells hit low
He simply sits and croons.
The strains of "Over There" come floating on the air:

Repeat Chorus-

Introduced by the African-American vaudevillian Bert Williams, in Ziegfield Midnight Frolic, 1918.

www.militarysheetmusic.com

Subject: Lyr Add: OH! WHAT A TIME FOR THE GIRLIES
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 11 Dec 13 - 06:35 PM

Lyr. Add: OH! WHAT A TIME FOR THE GIRLIES
       (When the Boys Come Marching Home)
Words by Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young, Music by Harry Ruby

1
Why are all the girlies feeling great?
Something's in the air;
They don't even want to make a date,
With a poor old millionaire;
They're fixing up the morris chair,
And pulling down the blind;
Soon there'll be somebody there,
And here's what's on their minds:

Chorus-
Oh what a time, what a time,
for the girlies when the boys come marching home,
They'll get the kissing that they've been missing,
While they were over the foam;
Mary and Jane will explain to her soldier
How she spent her nights alone;

Think of all the loving they will get,
Two long years they've been without a pet;
Every "Cutie" waiting at the pier,
Wants to do her duty over here;
When a soldier squeezes you too hard,
Raise your hand and holler "Kamerad;"
Oh what a time for the girlies
when the boys come marching home

2
Have you noticed any girlie, who,
Has a boy in France?
She was always feeling sad and blue,
You could tell it at a glance;
But now upon her face you'll see,
A look of joy and pride;
It's because she knows that he,
Will soon be by her side:

Chorus-

Levy Sheet Music Collection.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 11 Dec 13 - 06:10 PM

Found it at Levy Sheet Music. I will o post it shortly. Popular in 1918.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 11 Dec 13 - 06:05 PM

I have seen a sheet music cover for "Oh! What a time for the girlies."
Does anyone know the lyrics?

Subject: Lyr Add: OO-LA-LA WEE-WEE (Ruby/Jessell)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 11 Dec 13 - 12:59 PM

Lyr. Add: OO-LA-LA WEE-WEE
Words and music, Harry Ruby and George Jessell, 1918-1919

1
Willie Earl met a sweet young girl one day in France,
Her naughty little glance, put Willie in a trance;
Willie Earl couldn't understand her talk you see,
He only knew two words in French
That he learned in the trench,
They were "oo-la-la" and "wee-wee."
They would spoon beneath the moon above;
It was fun to hear them making love.

Chorus-
She'd say, "com-pro-nay voo, papa?"
And he'd say "oo-la-la! wee wee."
She'd smile and whisper "mercy ba-coo,
He'd andwer "I don't mind if I do."
She'd say, "If you'll be my papa,
Then I will be your ma Cherie."
She'd pinch his cheek and say, you Kes-ka-say,"
He'd say "not now, dear, but later I may;"
Then she'd say "com-prom-ay voo, papa!"
And he'd say "oo-la-la wee wee."

2
Ev'ry day some thousand soldiers sail across the sea
To fight for you and me. To save "Democracy"
The men who can't go over can do something never fear,
They all can volunteer today to *lick the Germans here.
Oro Germans are a danger, they are lurking at your door,
So wake up! Now America we've got to win this war.

Chorus-
You've got to go in or go under,
You've got to be going all day.
We know you're not in khaki or blue
But you're as big a man and you've got a job to do.
In Flanders they're calling for Soldiers.
They're calling for you and for me.
If you can't cross the pond
Buy a Liberty Bond
And we'll drive them back to Germany.

* In some places, businesses of peaceful Americans of German ancestry were wrecked, and these unfortunate citizens attacked.

www.militarysheetmusic.com/oo-la-la-wee-wee.htm

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Lighter
Date: 10 Dec 13 - 07:20 PM

I shoulda sent those to the "Trench Songs" thread.

Subject: Lyr Add: DON'T CRY, FRENCHY, DON'T CRY
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 10 Dec 13 - 07:19 PM

Lyr. Add: DON'T CRY, FRENCHY, DON'T CRY
Words Joe Young & Sam M. Lewis, Music Walter Donaldson. 1919

They met while clouds were hanging over Flanders,
A soldier's glance; a war romance;
But now he's leaving her alone in Flanders
And he softly whispers to his maid of France:

Chorus-
Don't cry, Frenchy, don't cry,
When you kiss me good-bye,
I will always keep the Fleur-de-lis, dear,
You gave to me dear,
So dry your eye.
Sometime, Frenchy, sometime,
We'll hear wedding bells chime,
Oh please don't cry, Frenchy, don't cry, don't cry;
Until we meet again, good-bye, good-bye!

The peaceful stars will heal the scars of Flanders,
One tiny spark; will light the dark;
For it will bring a message back to Flanders,
Just a word of love to you, my Joan of Arc:

Chorus-

www.militarysheetmusic.com

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Lighter
Date: 09 Dec 13 - 10:35 PM

I.

The leathernecks, the leathernecks, with dirt behind their ears,
Can lick their weight in wildcats and drink their weight in beers!
Oh, the infantry, the cavalry, the goddamned engineers,
They couldn't lick a leatherneck in a hundred thousand years!

As we go maaaaarching,
And the band begins to plaaaay,
You can hear the people shouting,
"The raggedy-assed Marines are on parade!"

II.

Bonjour, mademoiselle, comment allez vous?
Bonjour, mademoiselle, je vous aime bookoo!
Avez-vous fiance? Cela ne fait rien!
Voulez-vous couchez 'vec moi?
Oui! Combien?

III.

Come all you soldiers if you want to hear
I'll tell you the story of a brave grenadier;
Casey Jones was the grenadier's name:
With a 32 Mills grenade he won his fame.
The sergeant called Casey at half-past four.
He said good-bye to his buddy at the dugout door.
He mounted to the parapet, grenades in his hand,
And he tried to bomb his way out into No Man's Land.

Casey Jones! Mounted to the parapet!
Casey Jones! Grenades in his hand!
Casey Jones! Tried to stop a whizzbang!
Now he's pushin' daisies out in No Man's Land!

IV.
                FUNERAL MARCH

Ten thousand dollars for the folks back home.
Ten thousand dollars for the folks back home.
Ten thousand dollars for the home folks.
Ten thousand dollars for the fam'ly.


V.

Home, boys, home! It's home we oughta be!
Home, boys, home! In the land of libertee!
We'll hoist Old Glory to the top of the pole,
And we'll all re-enlist!
In a pig's a-- h--- !

VI.

Away, away with sword and drum!
Here we come, full of rum!
Looking for women to pat on the bum,
In the Armored Cruiser Squadron!

Subject: Lyr Add: GIVE A LITTLE CREDIT TO THE NAVY
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 Dec 13 - 03:52 PM

Lyr. Add: GIVE A LITTLE CREDIT TO THE NAVY
Lyric, Bud De Silva & Gus Kahn, Music, Albert Gumble

Billy Taylor was a sailor on a Yankee boat
He lov'd all patriotic songs, yes every single note
But they were all about soldiers and the things they do
And Billy said they ought to write one for the sailors too
He said I'm not a poet as you know-
But here's the way I think it ought to go-

Chorus-
Give a little credit to the Navy
We took the boys across
Without a single loss
Ev'ry soldier is a fighting bear
But don't forget it- give us credit
We took them over there.
Mothers of soldiers, sweethearts and wives
We'll take care of your boys
Though it cost us our lives
So give a little credit to the Navy
The Navy will do its share.

When our Pershing took his first Crusaders over seas
The sailors of our Navy trick'd the submarines with ease
The only one that didn't run but tried to stay and fight
Was quickly riddle'd by our guns and disappear'd from sight
And as the U-boat sank into the sea-
The soldiers cheered and sang out joyfully-

Chorus-

!918. Jerome & Remick, NYC.
Sheet music at Levy Sheet Music.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 Dec 13 - 01:26 PM

Lyr. Add: WHO KILLED COCK ROBIN? (R.F.C.)

Who killed Cock Robin?
"I" said the Hun,
"With my *Lewis gun.
I killed Cock Robin."

All the planes in the air
Went a-dipping and a-throbbing,
When they heard of the death of poor Cock Robin,
When they heard of the death of poor Cock Robin.

Who saw him hit?
"I" said old Fritz,
"And I have a bit,
I saw him hit."

And all of the planes in the air
Went a-swaying and a-bobbing,
When they heard of the death of poor Cock Robin.
When they heard of the death of poor Cock Robin.

Who saw him die?
"I" said the spy,
"with my telepathic eye,
I saw him die."

And all the planes in the air
Went a-strafing and a-bombing,
When they heard of the death of poor Cock Robin.
When they heard of the death of poor Cock Robin.

(The *Lewis gun, fitted to aeroplanes, fired 600 rounds a minute.)

F. T, Nettleingham, 1917, "Tommy's Tunes," p. 61

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Dec 13 - 11:56 AM

As far as NeuveChapelle's concerned, the Belgians often ran the names together - our family chateau at BlancheOreille was destroyed by the Germans about that time. It's because for all they bang on at each other over linguistic differences, none the less the Walloons are even more thankful they're not French and the Flemish feel much the same about the Dutch. These minor typogrsphic differences are often used to mark the the difference by adding touches of the other side. One might compare it with an elderly gay couple.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 07 Dec 13 - 01:41 PM

Sung to "Yankee Doodle."

NO QUARTER

Kaiser Bill, he went to war
Athirst for blood and slaughter;
He lost his crown- and he feels sore;
And so he bally well oughter.

A number of verses were sung to old or current GB and American songs.

F, T. Nettleingham, 1917, "Tommy's Tunes," p. 81.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 07 Dec 13 - 01:32 PM

Lyr. Add: SING ME TO SLEEP (Trench Version)
Tune: see thread 24768, "Sing Me to Sleep")

Sing me to sleep where Very lights fall,
Let me forget the war and all.
I've got the wind up, that's what they say,
God strafe 'em like hell- till break of day,
I feel so weary, warworn and sad,
I don't like this war- it makes me feel bad.
Dark is my dugout- *cold are my feet-
Waiting for the Boches to put me to sleep.

Far, far from *Wipers I long to be.
Take me to Egypt of Salonika,
Where I can hear of the Boche from afar.

Sing me to sleep where bullets fall,
Let me forget the war and all;
Damp is my dug-out, cold are my feet,
Nothing but bully and biscuits to eat.
Sing me to sleep where bombs explode
And shrapnel shells are àla mode;
Over the sandbags, helmets you'll find;
Corpses in front of you, corpses behind.

Far from the starlights I'd love to be,
Lights of old London I'd rather see;
Think of me crouching where worms creep,
Waiting for someone to put me to sleep.

*cold of my feet- both literal and-
*Wipres - Ypres

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 07 Dec 13 - 01:03 PM

Lyr. Add: THE LITTLE BIT OF FLUFF

Tune: "Tipperary"

It took a long time to get it hairy,
'Twas a long time to grow;
Took a long time to get it hairy,
For the toothbrush hairs to show.
Good-bye, Charlie Chaplin,
Farewell, tufts of hair;
'Twas a long, long time to get it hairy,
But now my lip's quite bare.

Popular about the time the War Office (GB) rescinded the decision re moustaches.

F. T. Nettleingham, "Tommy's Tunes, 1917, p. 23.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 07 Dec 13 - 12:44 PM

Lyr. Add: TIPPERARY parody

That's the wrong way to tickle Marie,
That's the wrong way to kiss;
Don't you know that over here, lad,
They like it better like this.
Hooray pour la France!
Farewell, Angleterre!
We didn't know the way to tickle Marie,
But now we've learnt how.

F. T. Nettleingham, "Tommy's Tunes," 1917, p. 23.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 06 Dec 13 - 04:54 PM

Another verse:

Après la guerre fini,
Soldat Anglais partée,
M'selle Frongsay boko pleury,
Après la guerre fini.

Subject: Lyr Add: APRES LA GUERRE
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 06 Dec 13 - 04:45 PM

Lyr. Add: APRÈS LA GUERRE

Après la guerre fini,
Oh, we'll all go home to Blighty;
But won't we be sorry to leave chère Germaine,
Après la guerre fini.

Après la guerre fini,
English soldiers parti,
Mam'selle français beaucoup picaninnies,
Après la guerre fini.

Many verses. Anyone?

Original tune, "Sous les Ponts de Paris."

With musical score, p. 30, F. T. Nettlingham, 1917, "Tommy's Tunes," Erskine, Macdonald, Ltd., London.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Mr Red
Date: 06 Dec 13 - 12:01 PM

there is a version of the Old Barbed Wire a sung by Rpbert Graves, the war poet n my website. click here

Subject: Lyr Add: DARK NEUVE-CHAPELLE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 05 Dec 13 - 06:57 PM

In response to cetmst's request 2 days ago: I listened to the song on Spotify. This is how I hear it. Note there is a gap in verse 1 line 1 where I couldn't decipher the words.

I must say it sounds very strange to me to match these words to bouncy dance music.

DARK NEUVE-CHAPELLE

As sung by The Tartan Lads on "Scotland Yet" (1987)

CHORUS: It's the swing o the kilts, the fine coloured tartan,
The brave band of soldiers who marched through that hell;
But proud were the lads to wear their own tartans.
They are fast asleep in that dark Neuve-Chapelle.

1. Far from their mountains ... are sleeping.
They died for their country, those brave gallant men.
The women and children at home they are weeping
For husbands and fathers they'll ne'er see again. CHORUS

2. The fighting is over; the few are returning
To look for their loved ones, a story to tell
Of brave Scottish soldiers who fought in the battle
And died for their country in dark Neuve-Chapelle. CHORUS


[I used the spelling Neuve-Chapelle because that's how Wikipedia spells the name of the town. The battle, however is called Neuve Chapelle (without the hyphen). Spotify says the song title is DARK NEUVE CHAPEL; AllMusic.com doesn't list this recording but it says The Garioch Blend recorded DARK NEUVE CHAPELLE on "Relaxing" (no date given).]

Subject: Lyr Add: CALLING DOON THE LINE (THE PIPER'S CALL)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 05 Dec 13 - 11:32 AM

This is my transcription from the recording at YouTube. Thanks to Allan Conn, above, for the suggestion and the link. It is also on Spotify:

CALLING DOON THE LINE (THE PIPER'S CALL)
Words and music by Alan G. Brydon
As recorded by Scocha on "Gie'd Sum Wellie" (2008)

1. Boys stood on the platform, 1917,
Waitin' for a train to Salisbury Plain, but only in their dreams.
A lad to his mother said in a fret: "We'll be home by Christmas day,"
And the piper played "Scotland the Brave" as he waved the boys away.

CHORUS: Callin' doon the line, callin' doon the line,
And they rallied roond to the piper's tune; it was callin' doon the line.

2. The sergeant major pushed them hard; they were trained in only days,
But to bear the brunt o' the western front would soon be on their way.
So off they marched, rifles shoulder high, and all at once they sang:
"For we're no awa tae bide awa" tae the pipers in the band.

3. The thunder echoed through the trench as the shells aboon(?) them rained,
And the gen'rals spent a thousand men for ev'ry inch they gained,
And the brave young men faced their battle dawn so proud to do their job,
And the piper stood in the line of fire and played them ower the top.

4. When No Man's Land fell silent, and they counted all the dead,
The vict'ry claimed would disguise the shame, and nothin' more was said,
And the fallen brave on a foreign field they gave their very best,
And the piper played a sad lament as they laid the boys to rest.

Subject: Lyr Add: HAPPED IN MIST (Michael Marra)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 05 Dec 13 - 12:39 AM

Guest,Azoic mentioned this song on 26 Aug 11 – 03:54 PM:

I found these lyrics in Voicing Scotland: Folk, Culture, Nation by Gary West (Edinburgh : Luath Press Ltd, 2012), page 138:

HAPPED IN MIST
Written by Michael Marra

Happed in mist, these twenty-five eventful years, seem to me now.
And in all but one, a friendly haze, a ghost of gladness by my side.
With a horse and plough I marched with pride of the purest kind;
Then a blink of light and it's Flanders field and the end of time.

And through the flash and cannons' roar, I saw my Christine's smiling eyes.
With no more thought of blood or shell, I made my way to hold her near.
But Truth and Honour's henchmen found me leaving here—
A madman's rave and a coward's grave for the volunteer.

And in his eyes flew snipe and curlew; and in his nose blew moistened air;
And in his mind the wood the king stole, that robbed the land, and laid it bare.
And in his heart, his lover's memory, singing on their wedding night,
Where once the parks flowed thick with corn; that sullen tune was with him now.

Happed in mist, the King's Own Rifles: 'Ready, aim!'
The Flooers o the Forest are a' wede awa.

[Recorded by Michael Marra on "Gaels Blue" (1996), June Tabor on "Angel Tiger" (2001), and by Shine on "Sugarcane" (2001).]

Subject: Lyr Add: DOWN UPON THE DUGOUT FLOOR (Coope, etc.)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 04 Dec 13 - 05:48 PM

Guest,ifor mentioned this song back on 01 Jul 06 – 07:39 AM

Here's my transcription from the recording on YouTube:


DOWN UPON THE DUGOUT FLOOR
As sung by Coope, Boyes & Simpson

Battered down to the ground
    Down upon the dugout floor
Hear the whine crease the spine
    Take me to that other shore
    For I'm here in no man's land
    And the world is turned to sand
    Down upon the dugout floor

Young in years, old in fears
    Down upon the dugout floor
Trapped in time between the lines
    Take me to that other shore
    For I'm here in no man's land
    And the world is turned to sand
    Down upon the dugout floor

Oh can't you hear the mournful cry
We cannot do but only die
And here we sit and wonder why
You and I

Battered down to the ground
    Down upon the dugout floor
Hear the whine crease the spine
    Take me to that other shore
    For I'm here in no man's land
    And the world is turned to sand
    Down upon the dugout floor

My soul can never return home
On air or land or sea or foam
Condemned forever to roam
Lost and alone

Please don't go; I need to know
    Down upon the dugout floor
If part of me has set you free
    Take me to that other shore
    For I'm here in no man's land
    And the world is turned to sand
    Down upon the dugout floor
    Down upon the dugout floor

Subject: Lyr Add: BUTCHER'S TALE (WESTERN FRONT 1914)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Dec 13 - 10:43 PM

Matt R mentioned this way back at the beginning of this thread. I guess The Zombies were never on my radar before, but I'm glad I listened to this on Spotify:


BUTCHER'S TALE (WESTERN FRONT 1914)
Written by Chris White
As recorded by The Zombies on "Odyssey and Oracle" (1968)

1. The butcher, yes, that was my trade,
But the King's shilling is now my fee.
A butcher I may as well have stayed,
For the slaughter that I see;
And the preacher in his pulpit
Sermoned "Go and fight; do what is right,"
But he don't have to hear these guns,
And I bet he sleeps at night.

CHORUS: And I,
And I can't stop shaking.
My hands won't stop shaking.
My arms won't stop shaking.
My mind won't stop shaking.
I want to go home.
Please let me go home,
Go home.

2. And I have seen a friend of mine
Hang on the wire like some rag toy,
Then in the heat the flies come down
And cover up the boy;
And the flies come down in Gommecourt, Thiepval,
Mametz Wood, and French Verdun.
If the preacher he could see those flies,
Wouldn't preach for the sound of guns. CHORUS

[Covered by Chrysanthemums, They Might Be Giants, John Wilkes Booze, and The Immediate.]

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: cetmst
Date: 03 Dec 13 - 08:29 AM

I have a cassette of The Tartan Lads, "Scotland Yet", Lisnor Recordings 1976, singing "Dark Neuve Chapels (sic)", a corruption of Dark Neuve-Chapelle, a WWI battle which was meant to be a British breakthrough but resulted only in the destruction of a Belgian village and thousands of deaths. See Wikipedia. I'm having trouble transcribing the lyrics. The chorus goes:
It's the swing of the kilts, the fine colored tartans,
The brave Scottish soldiers who marched (through/to) that hell,
(But now where's the rest who wear their own tartans?)
They are fast asleep in that dark Neuve Chapelle.
The song is attributed to McFarlane - Srerlini Music
Does anyone have the lyrics and more information on the song.

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Dec 13 - 06:18 AM

Perhaps it's time to start to pass the ball: I made a small contribution to the film of Oh! What A Lovely War! back in 1969, by finding the original uniforms they copied. The only time I ever took a salute, from Gielgud and Olivier, the Richardsons and all, on the morning they drove down to Brighton to film it, all on an original charabanc in the London-Brighton vintage car run. Memories...
My real point, though, is that with the centenary coming up, perhaps it's time to restart the bus. The dulce et decorum crowd seem to have gotten away with it once again, hijacking the very real heroism of our troops in the greater glory of politics. The Cenotaph still reads "Our glorious dead" - when the reality of death in war is far from glorious. The MOD still dissemble and deceive, failing to support the wounded as they should. For example, in 1925 the mining community in Clydach in the Swansea Valley clubbed together to build their own hospital, possibly one of the first steps towards the NHS. Named the Memorial Hospital in memory of their dead in WWI, it was run entirely by subscription geared to affordability throughout the community until the NHS took it over, as far as I know for nothing. Far overshadowed by Morriston Hospital a couple of miles away, it has languished unloved by the NHS but still supported by the neighbourhood, standing unused for the last ten years despite the investment of a couple of million just before. That hospital is now being sold off, and after protests from the community, part of it is being converted into a care centre for the quarter million veterans in South Wales - but as a private profit-making hospital. The rest is to become yet more money-making housing, in the teeth of local opposition. At the same time, George Osborne is saying the NHS is unaffordable.
It was behaviour like this which got the Theatre Royal Stratford shifting in Oh! What a Lovely War! The problem, though, remains: the same kind of jokers who sent the troops to the front are blissfully allowing the same profiteering to occur in peacetime, refusing to address the power companies freezing thousands to death, the list of iniquities is long. Perhaps it's time for Bellowhead and The Folk Roots Cooperative to justify their existence by creating a similar workshop, Oh! What a Lovely Peace!, bringing together the heritage of social movement since.

Subject: Lyr Add: WHY OLD MEN CRY (Dick Gaughan)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Dec 13 - 12:42 PM

Guest Gerry mentioned this song back at 29 Jun 06 – 08:28 PM. I copied the lyrics from Dick Gaughan's web site (and tweaked the line breaks to emphasize the rhyme). See the link above.

WHY OLD MEN CRY
Words & Music : Dick Gaughan
©Grian Music 1998

I walked from Ypres to Passchendaele in the first grey days of spring,
Through flatland fields where life goes on and carefree children sing,
Round rows of ancient tombstones where a generation lies,
And at last I understood why old men cry.

My mother's father walked these fields some eighty years ago.
He was half the age that I am now; no way that he could know
That his unborn grandchild someday would cross his path this way
And stand here where his fallen comrades lay.

He'd been dead a quarter century by the time that I was born.
The mustard gas which swept the trenches ripped apart his lungs—
Another name and number among millions there who died,
And at last I understood why old men cry.

I walked from Leith to Newtongrange at the turning of the year,
Through desolate communities and faces gaunt with fear,
Past bleak, abandoned pitheads where rich seams of coal still lie,
And at last I understood why old men cry.

My father helped to win the coal that lay neath Lothian's soil,
A life of bitter hardship the reward for years of toil,
But he tried to teach his children there was more to life than this:
Working all your life to make some fat cat rich.

I walked from Garve to Ullapool as the dawn light kissed the earth,
And breathed the awesome beauty of this land that gave me birth.
I looked into the future, saw a people proud and free
As I looked along Loch Broom out to the sea.

Subject: Lyr Add: OH FRENCHY (Erlich/Conrad)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Dec 13 - 08:06 AM

The following song was mentioned by bobad back on 29 Jun 06 – 04:57 PM:

From the sheet music at Indiana University:

OH! FRENCHY
Words, Sam Ehrlich; music, Con Conrad
New York: Broadway Music Corporation, ©1918

1. Rosie Green was a village queen, who enlisted as a nurse.
She waited for a chance,
And left for France with an ambulance.
Rosie Green met a chap named Jean,* a soldier from Paree.
When he said, "Parlez-vous, my pet?"
She said, "I will, but not just yet."
When he'd speak in French to her, she'd answer lovingly:

CHORUS: "Oh, Frenchy, oh, Frenchy, Frenchy,
Although your language is so new to me,
When you say, 'Oui, oui,' la-la,
'We' means 'you and me,' la-la.
Oh, Frenchy, oh, Frenchy, Frenchy,
You've won my love with your bravery.
March on! March on! With any girl you see,
But when you la-la-la-la-la,
Oh, Frenchy, save your la-la-la's for me.

2. Rosie Green married Soldier Jean. When his furlough time arrived,
She said, "Go pack your grip.
We'll take a trip on a big steam ship."
Rosie Green took her Soldier Jean down home somewhere in Maine.
They say her rural Pa and Ma,
Refused to do that oo-la-la,
But when she's alone with him, you'll hear this same refrain: CHORUS

[* In the recording, "Jean" is pronounced to rhyme with "bean," that is, not in the French way.]

[The following extra chorus is not in the sheet music, but can be heard on the cylinder recording by Arthur Fields (my incomplete transcription):]

"Oh, Frenchy, I'll nurse you, Frenchy.
I'll fight the germs while you fight Germany.
... [unintelligible line]
You can tell them, 'Oui, oui, oui!'
Oh, Frenchy, in Berlin, Frenchy,
We will spoon 'neath the linden tree.
March on! March on! March on through Germany!
Shield(?) all your bourgeois in Berlin,
But you can save your la-la-la's for me."

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 17 May 12 - 09:02 PM

Then there's "Passchendaele," the love story (2008):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1092082/reviews?filter=hate

Subject: Lyr Add: PASCHENDALE (Iron Maiden)
From: GUEST
Date: 17 May 12 - 08:02 AM

Try to guess the band (not folk) that wrote/plays this haunting song. Answer after the text. May not be everyones cup o' tea, but hats off to the guys for recalling history in their songs.

In a foreign field he lay
lonely soldier unknown grave
on his dying words he prays
tell the world of Paschendale

Relive all that he's been through
last communion of his soul
rust your bullets with his tears
let me tell you 'bout his years

Laying low in a blood filled trench
killing time 'til my very own death
on my face I can feel the fallin' rain
never see my friends again
in the smoke in the mud and lead
the smell of fear and the feeling of dread
soon be time to go over the wall
rapid fire and the end of us all

Whistles, shouts and more gun-fire
lifeless bodies hang on barbed wire
battlefield nothing but a bloody tomb
be reunited with my dead friends soon
many soldiers eighteen years
drowned in mud, no more tears
surely a war no one can win
killing time about to begin

Home, far away. From the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away. But the war, no chance to live again

The bodies of ours and our foes
the sea of death it overflows
in no-man's land God only knows
into jaws of death we go...

Crucified as if on a cross
allied troops, they mourn their loss
German war propaganda machine
such before has never been seen
swear I heard the angels cry
pray to God no more may die
so that people know the truth
tell the tale of Paschendale

Cruelty has a human heart
every man does play his part
terror of the men we kill
the human heart is hungry still

I stand my ground for the very last time
gun is ready as I stand in line
nervous wait for the whistle to blow
rush of blood and over we go...

Blood is falling like the rain
its crimson cloak unveils again
the sound of guns can't hide their shame
and so we die in Paschendale

Dodging shrapnel and barbed wire
running straight at canon fire
running blind as I hold my breath
say a prayer symphony of death
as we charge the enemy lines
a burst of fire and we go down
I choke I cry but no one hears
feel the blood go down my throat

Home, far away. From the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away. But the war, no chance to live again
Home, far away. From the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away. But the war, no chance to live again

See my spirit on the wind
across the lines beyond the hill
friend and foe will meet again
those who died at Paschendale

Paschendale

Subject: RE: Songs about World War I
From: Jack Campin
Date: 17 May 12 - 07:13 AM

The songs written about WW1 long after the event are really about the time when they were written - Bogle's "Willie McBride" [No Man's Land] and "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" are songs about the Vietnam War.

Usually people do that when they don't have the imagination or courage to take on issues from their own time in their own terms. The godawful legacy of Jacobite cliche songs about 1745 is another example of the same process.

WW1 songs that actually date from WW1 are a lot more interesting.