Subject: Lyr Req: war song From: bradfordian Date: 15 Feb 03 - 09:45 AM The chorus of which is (more or less) It's here boys, it's here boys, it's the second front for you In spite of the old atlantic wall, we're the boys to see you through It won't take long to finish it, once we have got the range Then we can all go home and live like humans for a change Brad. (Having tried searching) |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: war song From: Sorcha Date: 15 Feb 03 - 11:08 AM Any more clues? Who, when, etc? |
Subject: Lyr Add: THE SECOND FRONT SONG (Ewan MacColl) From: Leadfingers Date: 15 Feb 03 - 12:22 PM THE SECOND FRONT SONG written by James Miller aka Ewan MacColl As sung by Ewan MacColl on "Bundook Ballads" (Topic, 1965) NOTE: This is NOT a very pro American song. Now, my boys, if you will listen, I'll sing you a little song. So sit you down a while here; I'll not detain you long. I was serving in the infantry, was told I would receive With all the other blokes a weekend's embarkation leave.
It's here, chum; it's here, chum; it's the Second Front for you. In spite of the old Atlantic Wall, we're the boys to see you through. It won't take long to finish it, when we have got their range, And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. So I packed my bag at the double and I was ready soon. I took my place in an army truck with the rest of my platoon. Nobody made much noise that trip; the driver he did blind. We were all too busy thinking of the ones we'd leave behind. CHORUS When we reached the railway station, the queue was three miles long. They'd have filled the Wembley Stadium and still left quite a throng. 'It's every man for himself, lads' cried Corporal McShane, So we rushed that crowd with a roar and tore our way onto the train. CHORUS We were all packed in the corridor; it was eighty in the shade. The seats had all been taken by the chewing gum brigade. They smoked their Camel cigarettes and petted with their Janes, And looked at us as though we were something crept out of the drains. CHORUS For eleven long hours we stood there and watched the fields slip by. We were packed so close we couldn't even smoke, and that's no lie. And all the time the Yanks talked big and boasted they were tops, And wrestled with their Judies now and then between the stops. CHORUS At last the train reached Manchester; the station was Exchange. It was too late to get a car or bus to Whalley Range I tried to flag a taxi but I didn't stand a chance. They'd all been commandeered to take the Yanks home from a dance. CHORUS I humped my pack upon my back and made to cross the street, And just escaped a sudden death from a madly driven Jeep, But the thought of Nelly waiting made happiness arise, And my heart was beating pleasantly at the thought of her surprise. I let myself in quietly and tiptoed up the stairs. The thought of being home again had banished all my cares. In the bedroom then I murmured: 'Gal, your soldier boy has come', When a voice replied in sharp surprise: 'Say, Nell, who is this bum?' CHORUS For a moment I stood speechless there and rooted to the ground, And then I switched the lights on and what do you think I found? My little Nell was lying there exposing all her charms Like the famous whore of Babylon in a Yankee M.P.'s arms. CHORUS This geezer looked me over and then sat bolt upright. He was wearing my pyjamas, the ones with the purple stripe. He made a sudden movement, then tried to grab his gun, And I landed him a good straight left and stopped his bleeding fun. CHORUS And then I waded in, my boys, and pasted him like hell. That bastard lost so many teeth he couldn't even yell. I kicked him down the stairs, my lads, and out into the street. That geezer must have thought it was the middle of next week. CHORUS My story's nearly over; there's little more to tell. I wasn't wearing any overtures from little Nell. For every time i think of her, with grief my body fills, But she'll do all right as long as there's a Yank to pay the bills, CHORUS |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: war song From: Leadfingers Date: 15 Feb 03 - 12:29 PM Brain fade strikes again with regard to the above.One alteration I have to the chorus(very minor,but I always was pedantic)is the line In spite of their old Atlantic Wall Tune by the way is almost the same as the Great Lakes song about the passage down from Buffalo to Milwaukee. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: war song From: Joe Offer Date: 15 Feb 03 - 12:40 PM Leadfingers, I think the song you're referring to as the tune source may be The Bigler's Crew. Am I right? -Joe Offer- |
Subject: Tune Add: THE SECOND FRONT SONG (Ewan MacColl) From: GUEST,MCP Date: 15 Feb 03 - 01:31 PM According to Karl Dallas' Cruel Wars the tune is Musselburgh Fair, and I give his version below. He has some minor textual differences with Terry's version, different verse order and 1 extra verse. The version there has: Now my boys if you will listen... So I packed my bag at the double... When we reached the railway station... We were all packed in the corridor... For eleven long hours we stood there and watched the fields go by We were packed so close we couldn't even smoke and that's no lie. And all the time the Yanks talked big and boasted they were tops And wrestled with their judies now and then between the stops. At last the train reached Manchester... I humped my pack upon my back... I let myself in quietly... For a moment I stood speechless... And then I waded in, my boys... This geezer looked me over... My story's nearly over... Mick X: 1 T:Second Front Song M:C L:1/4 C:Words: Ewan MacColl Tune:Musselburgh Fair S:Dallas - The Cruel Wars K:DDor A/ A/|A A A A|A A2 A|A A/ A/ A< E|C3 w:Now my boys if you will lis-ten I'll sing you a lit-tle song G|G G G> A|G G2 G|D E F G|A3 w:So sit you down a-while here I won't de-tain you long A/ A/|D D D D|d d d d|c B A G|c3 w:I was se-ving in the in-fan-try was told I would re-ceive D|F F E E|D E F G|A G F E |D3|| w:With all the oth-er blokes a week-end's em-bar-ka-tion leave A|A2 D A|A2 D A/ A/|A/ A/ G2 E|C3 w:It's here chums, it's here chums, It's the Se-sond Front for you F|G> G G< G|G/ G G/ G G/ G/|D E F G|A3 w:In spite of their old At-lan-tic Wall we're the boys to see it through A|D D D D| d/ d/ d z d|c B A F|c3 w:It won't take long to fin-ish it when we have got their range E|F F/ F/ E E|D E F G|A G F E|D3|| w:And then we can all go home and live like hu-mans for a change. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: war song (Second Front - MacColl) From: Leadfingers Date: 15 Feb 03 - 02:15 PM Yes indeed Joe-couldnt remember the title but a mate of mine sings Bigglers and I commented on the tune at the time. Thanks for the extra info Mick I put that lot in from memory and used to have the extra verse you added I have now noted it. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: war song (Second Front - MacColl) From: bradfordian Date: 15 Feb 03 - 02:25 PM Joe, the tune for Bigler's Crew sounds very similar to the tune I remember for the Second Front song. There's an Australian song "Lachlan Tigers" which also has the same tune which I assume is the Scottish Musselburgh Fair. Thanks Leadfingers, MCP & Joe Brad (sorry about the political overtones):o( |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: war song (Second Front - MacColl) From: curmudgeon Date: 15 Feb 03 - 02:43 PM The same tune also is used for "Sailing Over the Dogger Banks" and "The Knickerbocker Line." |
Subject: Origins: The Second Front Song (Ewan MacColl) From: Joe Offer Date: 01 Feb 21 - 07:26 PM So, was MacColl the author? Inconclusive. Here's what Peggy Seeger says in The Essential Ewan MacColl Songbook: Sixty Years of Songmaking (Oak Publications, 2001), pp 306-307:
THE SECOND FRONT SONG (Ewan MacColl) Now me boys, if you will listen, I'll sing you a little song, So sit you clown awhile here, I won’t detain you long; I was serving in the infantry, was told I would receive With all the other blokes a weekends eembarkation leave. CHORUS It's here. chum, it's here. chum, it's the Second Front for you, In spite of their old Atlantic Wall, we're the boys to see it through. It won’t take long to finish it when we have got their range. And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. I packed me bag at the double and I was ready soon; I took my place in an army truck with the rest of my platoon. Nobody made much noise that trip, the driver he did blind, We were all too busy thinking of the ones we’d left behind. CHORUS We reached the railway station, the queue was three miles long; They'd have ?lled the Wembley Stadium and still left quite a throng. "It's every man for himself, lads!” cried Corporal McShane; So we rushed that crowd with a roar and tore our way into the train. We were all packed in the corridor, it was eighty in the shade; The seats had all been taken by the chewing—gum brigade. They smoked their Camel cigarettes and petted with their janes, And looked at us as though we were something crept out of the drains. For eleven long hours we stood there and watched the fields go by; We were packed so close we couldn’t even smoke. and that’s no lie. And all the time the Yanks talked big and boasted they were tops, And wrestled with their judies now and then between the stops. CHORUS At last the train reached Manchester, the station was Exchange; It was too late to get a car or bus to Whalley Range. to flag a taxi but l didn’t stand a chance — They'd all been commandeered to take the Yanks home from a dance So I humped me pack upon me back and made to cross the street And just escaped a sudden death from a madly driven jeep; But the thought of Nellie waiting there made happiness arise, And my heart was beating pleasantly at the thought of her surprise. I let myself in quietly and tiptoed up the stairs— The thought of being home again had banished all my cares. In the bedroom then I murmured, “Nell, your soldier boy has come.” When a voice replied, in sharp surprise, “Say, Nell, who is this bum?” For a moment I stood speechless and rooted to the ground. And then I switched the light on, and what do you think I found? My little Nell was lying there, exposing all her charms Like the famous whore of Babylon — in a Yankee M.P.’s arms. CHORUS This geezer looked me over and then sat bolt upright: He was wearing my pyjamas (the ones with the purple stripes). He made a sudden movement and tried to grab his gun, When I landed him a good straight left and stopped his bleeding fun. And then I waded in, me boys, and pasted him like hell; That bastard lost so many teeth he couldn’t even yell. I kicked him down the stairs, me lads, and out into the street. That geezer must have thought it was the middle of next week. My story’s nearly over, there's little left to tell— I wasn’t wearing any overtures from little Nell. And every time I think of her, with grief my body fills . . . But she'll do all right as long as there’s a Yank to pay the bills. CHORUS Music note: The chorus is sung to the same tune as the verse, although there are some very different internal rhythms. Despite the fact that this song has the same tune as "Roll Up the Coal Up," there are many different rhythms and inflections needed ot adapt the melody to the text. It is also interesting to see how the same tune can accommodate two such contrasting ideas.
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Second Front Song (Ewan MacColl) From: GUEST,# Date: 01 Feb 21 - 07:43 PM Hold the press. There seem to be more stanzas at the following link (and it's credited to MacColl (Miller)). https://www.antiwarsongs.org/canzone.php?id=47846&lang=en THE SECOND FRONT SONG (Ewan MacColl) Now, my boys, if you will listen, I'll sing you a little song. So sit you down a while here; I'll not detain you long. I was serving in the infantry, was told I would receive With all the other blokes a weekend's embarkation leave.
In spite of the old Atlantic wall, we're the boys to see you through. It won't take long to finish it, when we have got their range, And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. I took my place in an army truck with the rest of my platoon. Nobody made much noise that trip; the driver he did blind. We were all too busy thinking of the ones we'd leave behind.
In spite of the old Atlantic wall, we're the boys to see you through. It won't take long to finish it, when we have got their range, And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. They'd have filled the Wembley Stadium and still left quite a throng. 'It's every man for himself, lads' cried Corporal McShane, So we rushed that crowd with a roar and tore our way onto the train.
In spite of the old Atlantic wall, we're the boys to see you through. It won't take long to finish it, when we have got their range, And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. The seats had all been taken by the chewing gum brigade. They smoked their Camel cigarettes and petted with their Janes, And looked at us as though we were something crept out of the drains.
In spite of the old Atlantic wall, we're the boys to see you through. It won't take long to finish it, when we have got their range, And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. We were packed so close we couldn't even smoke, and that's no lie. And all the time the Yanks talked big and boasted they were tops, And wrestled with their Judies now and then between the stops.
In spite of the old Atlantic wall, we're the boys to see you through. It won't take long to finish it, when we have got their range, And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. It was too late to get a car or bus to Whalley Range I tried to flag a taxi but I didn't stand a chance. They'd all been commandeered to take the Yanks home from a dance.
In spite of the old Atlantic wall, we're the boys to see you through. It won't take long to finish it, when we have got their range, And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. And just escaped a sudden death from a madly driven Jeep, But the thought of Nelly waiting made happiness arise, And my heart was beating pleasantly at the thought of her surprise. I let myself in quietly and tiptoed up the stairs. The thought of being home again had banished all my cares. In the bedroom then I murmured: 'Gal, your soldier boy has come', When a voice replied in sharp surprise: 'Say, Nell, who is this bum?'
In spite of the old Atlantic wall, we're the boys to see you through. It won't take long to finish it, when we have got their range, And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. And then I switched the lights on and what do you think I found? My little Nell was lying there exposing all her charms Like the famous whore of Babylon in a Yankee M.P.'s arms.
In spite of the old Atlantic wall, we're the boys to see you through. It won't take long to finish it, when we have got their range, And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. He was wearing my pyjamas, the ones with the purple stripe. He made a sudden movement, then tried to grab his gun, And I landed him a good straight left and stopped his bleeding fun.
In spite of the old Atlantic wall, we're the boys to see you through. It won't take long to finish it, when we have got their range, And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. That bastard lost so many teeth he couldn't even yell. I kicked him down the stairs, my lads, and out into the street. That geezer must have thought it was the middle of next week.
In spite of the old Atlantic wall, we're the boys to see you through. It won't take long to finish it, when we have got their range, And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. I wasn't wearing any overtures from little Nell. For every time i think of her, with grief my body fills, But she'll do all right as long as there's a Yank to pay the bills.
In spite of the old Atlantic wall, we're the boys to see you through. It won't take long to finish it, when we have got their range, And then we can all go home and live like humans for a change. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Second Front Song (Ewan MacColl) From: Lighter Date: 02 Feb 21 - 08:46 AM It's an anti-American song based on the occasional Brit complaint that GI's were "oversexed, overpaid, and over here." But nobody in a combat unit, British or American, had much sympathy for rear-echelon Military Police, of which the song's villain is one. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Second Front Song (Ewan MacColl) From: GUEST,# Date: 02 Feb 21 - 09:21 AM I think that was responded to with the remark that the Brits complained because they were "undersexed, underpaid and under Eisenhower." |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Second Front Song (Ewan MacColl) From: Charmion Date: 02 Feb 21 - 12:20 PM News flash: Nobody in any unit, of whichever echelon, from commandos to conchie stretcher-bearers, had much sympathy for the Military Police, who are not called "meatheads" for nothing. The version posted just above has one stanza that MacColl did not include in his performance of this song on "Bless 'Em All": the one that begins, "And then I waded in, boys, and pasted him like hell". This song always struck me as a Tommy's revenge fantasy. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Second Front Song (Ewan MacColl) From: GerryM Date: 02 Feb 21 - 04:05 PM As mentioned earlier in this discussion, in Australia the tune was used for Lachlan Tigers, but also for The Station Cook, and for The Great Northern Line, and for The Sandy Hollow Line. |
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