Other WWI Songs

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Nov 14 - 09:59 AM

Here's the reference to John Jacob Niles collection of World War 1 songs available from BookFinder:

SINGING SOLDIERS, Scribners, 1927, first edition, slight wear to the lower fore edge corner tips, hint of fraying to the base of the spine, else a vg+ copy in a vg dust-wrapper with some shallow chipping to the dust-wrapper spine extremities. The songs of Afro-American soldiers in WW1. Illustrated by Margaret Thorniley Williamson.

Charlie Ipcar

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Nov 14 - 09:55 AM

Here's the version of "Destroyer Life" collected by John Jacob Niles during World War 1:

Destroyer Song

The boys out in the trenches
Have got a lot to say
Of the hardships and the sorrows
That come the soldier's way;
But we destroyer sailors
Would like their company
On a couple of trips in our skinny ships,
When we put out to sea.

Chorus:

Oh, it's roll and toss,
And pound and pitch,
And creak and groan, you son of a bitch,
Oh, boy, it's a hell of a life on a destroyer.

Oh, Holy Mike, you ought to see
How it feels to roll through each degree.
The God-damned ships were never meant for sea;
You carry guns, torpedoes, and ash-cans in a bunch,
But the only time you're sure to fire is when you shoot your lunch.
Your food it is the navy bean,
You hunt the slimy submarine.
It's a son-of-a-bitch of a life on a destroyer. (CHO)

We've heard of muddy dug-outs,
Of shell holes filled with slime,
Of cootie hunts and other things
That fill a soldier's time.
But believe me, boy, that's nothing,
To what it's like at sea,
When the barometer drops
And the clinometer hops,
And the wind blows dismally. (CHO)

From Songs My Mother Never Taught Me, John Jacob Niles

Niles was in the US Army Air Service at the time but was actively collecting what the soldiers and sailors sang. Most of the really interesting songs collected by Niles were from the Black soldiers and published at the end of the War.

Charlie Ipcar

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: bobad
Date: 05 Nov 14 - 01:36 PM

Oh! Frenchy

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Lighter
Date: 18 Dec 13 - 06:24 PM

I believe that Brand wrote most of that, based on an elaboration by John Jacob Niles of a fragmentary USN text of 1918.

Meanwhile, lest we forget: a pome.

COOTIES

(Written in the village graveyard)

by J. L. M.

The bugler blows a blast of parting day:
The troopers wend their way to Barracks D,
Each one upon his bunk the night to stay,
And leave my bunk to cooties and to me.

Full many a coot of mottled gray serene,
My dark and dusty O.D. blankets bear:
Full many a cootie born to blush unseen
And waste a lifetime crawling through my hair.

The strongest gasoline, the hottest shower,
And all that doctors, all that wealth e'er gave,
Are vanquished in the coot's victorious hour:
You cannot lead a cootie to its grave.

Can O.D. shirt or Red Cross knitted sock
Cast out the breeding cooties in a breath?
The cooties who hang on, and sneer, and mock,
Will challenge e'en the dull, cold ear of death.

(The author appears to have been Second Lieutenant James L. McCann, Second Corps Aeronautical School, Chatillon; later 104th U.S. Aero Squadron; text, punctuation very slightly corrected.)

Subject: Lyr Add: DESTROYER LIFE (from Oscar Brand)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Dec 13 - 11:07 PM

I think this is the song that Chanteyranger was referring to back on 24 Apr 03 – 02:04 AM.

Lyrics copied from www.horntip.com and checked against the recording on Spotify:


DESTROYER LIFE
As sung by Oscar Brand on "Military Songs" (2011)

The boys out in the trenches have got a lot to say
Of the hardships and the sorrows that come a soldier's way,
But we destroyer sailors would've liked their company
On a couple of trips in our lousy ships when we put out to sea.

CHORUS: Oh, it's roll and toss and pound and pitch
And creak and groan, you son of a bitch.
Oh, boy, it's a hell of a life on a destroyer.

The damned tin-can destroyer was never meant for sea.
You couldn't keep it steady in a lousy cup of tea.
We carry guns, torpedoes and ash cans in a bunch,
But the only time we hit our mark is when we shoot our lunch.

We have heard of muddy dugouts and shell holes filled with slime,
Of cootie hunts and marches which fill a soldier's time,
But set beside destroyer life, it all seems dull and pale,
When the clinometer hops, the barometer drops, and we line up on the rail.

And when we're back in dry dock, we stagger like we're drunk,
And wonder how we stood it, and why she never sunk.
You lay out your civilian clothes, but just before you switch,
Your sea bag's on your shoulder and you sign up for one more hitch.

[There is a related song in the DT: DESTROYER SONG.]

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Jack Campin
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 09:55 AM

Two Turkish ones: "Canakkale icinde" (about Gallipoli) and "Burasi Mustur" (or "Havada Bulut Yok") about the Mesopotamian front. Lots of YouTube videos of both; they are both traditional with no known composer, from the time of the war itself.

The nation that suffered the most casualties in WW1 was Russia. Next was Francophone Africa, then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. How about some songs from those places?

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: GUEST,sciencegeek
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 08:50 AM

Plus Mike has been working on a number of her war poems that we are slowly, very slooowwwly, getting transcribed. Hope to have some of them for you at NEFFA

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 08:40 AM

Another British poet contemporary with World War 1 is Cicely Fox Smith, with at least three dozen poems focused on the War. The ones which have been adapted for singing and recorded include:

Homeward (aka Home Boys Home) [Home Lads Home]
Farewell to ANZAC
The Jolly Bargeman
The North Sea Ground
The Convalescent
The Conversation Book
Admiral Dugout
Bill's Enemy
Ships That Pass
The Red Duster
The Ballad of the Eastern Crown

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 11:52 PM

Bill D, I first heard that song in a BBC/Masterpiece Theater program years ago. It took a bit of back-tracking to find that the role, played by Nigel Havers. "A Perfect Hero": that jaunty song was the intentionally ironically cheerful theme of the program.

SRS

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Jack Campin
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 09:44 PM

IWW: Christians at War (1916)

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Greg B
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 09:23 PM

[The Bells of Hell Go Ting-A-Ling-A-Ling]

The Bells of Hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling
For you but not for me:
For me the angels sing-a-ling-a-ling,
They've got the goods for me.
Oh! Death, where is thy sting-a-ling-a-ling?
Oh! Grave, thy victory?
The Bells of Hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling
For you but not for me.

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Bill D
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 12:23 PM

Just yesterday, I followed a link and found "Secret Life of Matilda" in which Eric Bogle discusses the history of the song, and how it differs from 'history'.

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: saulgoldie
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 10:12 AM

Not sure if "from" WW1 or "about" WW1 is requested. But, about:

"Christmas in the Trenchess" By John McCutcheon, of course. One of the greatest songs ever. And

"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" by Eric Bogle.

But perhaps I missed mention of these.

Saul

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 10:03 AM

has anybody heard the following words to an old song probably from WWI it goes as follows:

i'm writing this down in the trench mud,
so don't scold if it isn't so neat.
cause i remember how you did
when i was just a kid
and came home with mud on my feet.
then my old mothers hands began to tremble

[The Soldier's Last Letter by Ernest Tubb]

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: GUEST,lighter
Date: 25 Apr 03 - 01:51 PM

I meant to say, "Forward, Joe Soap's army. . . ."

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: GUEST,lighter
Date: 24 Apr 03 - 03:57 PM

A remarkable film, though its mix of malevolent satire and tough-minded realism is not to everybody's taste. American critics panned it. (In an early scene, one unfortunately gets a glimpse of 1960s high-rises near Brighton Pier.) Otherwise, well worth seeing, especially if you already know something about the Great War. Richard Attenborough directed.

My notes say the "Onward Christian Soldiers" lyric went more like this:

Onward, Joe Soap's army, marching without fear,
With our bold commander safely in the rear.
He boasts and skites from morn till night, and thinks he's very brave,
But the men who really did the job are dead and in their grave.
Onward, Joe Soap's army, marching without fear,
With our bold commander safely in the rear.

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: CRANKY YANKEE
Date: 24 Apr 03 - 02:47 AM

Somehow or other, I got cut off.

The song featured in the "First Christmas" of the War is "Christmas in the harem", it goes:

It were Christmas in the harem, all them eunuchs standing round
while four and twenty maidens was lying on the ground
When in stepped the bald, fat,Sultan from out of his marble halls
Asking, What do you want for Christmas, Lads"?
And all them eunuchs answered, "TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY, COMFORT AND JOY,
TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY"

There are lots of WWI songs in this movie., which is a great story about the futility of War and Actual quotes from high up British commanders (and the peerage) showing how stupidly they viewed what was going on in France.

This movie is a must. F I N D   I T , You'll love it.
It's on video. If you can't find it, let me know, I have a copy of it, I'll dub it and send it to you. bUT FIRST, LOOK FOR IT

Jody Gibson

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: CRANKY YANKEE
Date: 24 Apr 03 - 02:33 AM

Try to find the movie, "Oh what a lovely war". It stars Lawrence Olivier, Dirk Bogard, and a host of others. Every song published ( and some not published) before the American entry into the war is in it. Including parodies that were frowned on by the higher ups. such as this parody of "Onward Christian Soldiers"

Onward British Soldiers, marching with your gear
While our bold commander is safely in the rear.
Hear him as he boasts about deeds so bold and brave
While the men who really did them are dead and in their graves.
Onward British soldiers, marching with their gear
While the Brave Commander is safely in the rear.

One sequence is about the first Christmas of the war when the German and British soldiers met in "no man's land", shook hands, exchanged gifts, drank toasts and returned to their respective trenches. This seq

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 24 Apr 03 - 02:04 AM

Oscar brand recorded a WWI song, "Life On A Destroyer." [Destroyer Life]

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Allan Dennehy
Date: 23 Apr 03 - 06:18 PM

Susanne, you are certainly right about it being St. John. Im still a little in doubt about the name of the song. I seem to remember it being on one of the Dubliners albums as when Margret was eleven.

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 21 Apr 03 - 07:49 PM

Allan, the correct title, I believe, is 'Tunes of Glory', and it was written by Pete St. John. A Forum search ought to bring it to light.

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Allan Dennehy
Date: 21 Apr 03 - 02:04 AM

When Margaret Was Eleven, though written many years after WW1, is one of the most moving anti war songs ever, in my book anyway. Eric Bogle was the writer, I think.

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 20 Apr 03 - 10:08 PM

An essay with a number of soldiers' songs, WW1 and WW2, a version published in New York Folklore 11 (1985), "Soldiers' Songs: The Folklore of the Powerless": Soldiers' Songs

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: masato sakurai
Date: 19 Apr 03 - 11:35 PM

Songs of The Great War (links).

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: GUEST,BarryT
Date: 19 Apr 03 - 11:32 PM

Here is an obscure hymn written by Hattie Rhue-Hatchett, daughter of slaves who escaped to Canada to settle in Buxton, Ontario. This up tempo hymn, titled 'That Sacred Spot', was apparently selected as the official march of the Canadian troops during WW1.

Here is a midi in the military march style, and here is a midi of her original piano arrangement.

For the history fans among us, here is a link to the Buxton Settlement Historic Site and Museum. My sincere thanks to them for providing me with the music to this historic tune.

- - -

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: masato sakurai
Date: 19 Apr 03 - 11:16 PM

Put "World War I" into Levy Collection's search box, and you'll get "582 documents". Some Canadian songs can be seen at Sheet Music from Canada's Past: Music on the Home Front. Collections of contemporary recordings [CD] include Keep the Home Fires Burning (Saydisc) and The Great War (Pearl).
~Masato

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 19 Apr 03 - 09:33 PM

Useful list of WW1 songs at: WW1 Songs

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: AndyG
Date: 05 Aug 98 - 06:53 AM

Library Search info for a very useful book unfortunately long out of print.

Title Details: - The Long Trail: soldiers' songs and slang, 1914-18 by John Brophy & Eric Partridge

Edition: - Revised ed
Publisher: - London : Sphere, 1969
ISBN/ISSN: - 0722118856
Language: - English
Holding Libraries: - Dublin - Trinity College Library ; vp 10944;

Now if Ireland O'Reilly holds a clue to location you're in luck !

AndyG

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Alex
Date: 04 Aug 98 - 11:30 PM

Tony Barrand and John Roberts perform several WW1 songs, among them "Hanging on The Old Barbed Wire" and "It's A Long, Long Road" [There's a Long, Long Trail?]

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From:
Date: 04 Aug 98 - 07:17 PM

There are also Robert Service's war poems.

(BTW, my favourite famous-last-words from WWI are those of the writer Saki, killed in France -- "Put out that bloody cigarette!")

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Pete M
Date: 03 Aug 98 - 06:37 PM

Its not a song, but if you want something to balance the sentimentality of ""till we meet again" etc what about Blighters by Sassoon. To me its the epitome of the PBIs view of the class of civilians who glorify war/patriotism.

Pete M

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: BSeed
Date: 03 Aug 98 - 04:49 PM

"Over There," revived in WW2, was a WW1 song, no?

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 03 Aug 98 - 04:23 PM

A search for the keyword @WWI will find you 20 songs.

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Sophie
Date: 01 Aug 98 - 05:21 PM

Andy M. Stewart does an song called "Young Jimmy in Flanders" which is his own take on the old song "Will ye go to Flanders" about his grandfather who went to fight in the Great War.

Sophie

Subject: Lyr Add: TILL WE MEET AGAIN (Egan/Whiting)
From: Ralph Butts
Date: 31 Jul 98 - 05:58 PM

Wow - checked out that web site - great stuff!

My favorites - Peerless Quartette, Henry Burr, Charles Hart. They do my favorite, perhaps the most popular WWI song, "Till We Meet Again". I sing this together with "Lili Marlene" to cover both wars. Here's the old one....Tiger

TILL WE MEET AGAIN
Words by Raymond B. Egan, music by Richard A. Whiting, ©1918.

1. There's a song in the land of the lily
Each sweetheart has heard with a sigh.
Over high garden walls
This sweet echo falls
As a soldier boy* whispers goodbye:

CHORUS: Smile the while you kiss me sad adieu.
When the clouds roll by, I'll come to you.
Then the skies will seem more blue,
Down in Lovers Lane, my dearie.
Wedding bells will ring so merrily.
Ev'ry tear will be a memory,
So wait and pray each night for me,
Till we meet again.

2. Though goodbye means the birth of a teardrop,
Hello means the birth of a smile,
And the smile will erase
The tear-blighting trace,
When we meet in the after-a-while. CHORUS

[* "soldier boy"—as given in the sheet music; "fond lover" as sung by Charles Hart & Lewis James.]

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Martin Ryan.
Date: 31 Jul 98 - 04:42 PM

Try a forum search for "Salonika" for a rather sardonic Irish view of WW1!

Regards

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From:
Date: 31 Jul 98 - 03:46 PM

*CLICK HERE*
For WWI songs and songs of other eras!

Subject: RE: Other WWI Songs
From: Mountain Dog
Date: 31 Jul 98 - 12:34 PM

Dear Ireland,

Whilst I do some digging for songs of the era, there's an excellent and insightful history I'd recommend by Barbara Tuchman. "The Proud Tower" chronicles the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. She covers not only the political but the social changes that were afoot in Europe and the US that gave birth to this tumultuous century of ours. She was also the author of "The Guns of August", a definitive history of WWI. Both are excellent references for anyone interested in the opening decades of the 20th century.

And now I'll be packing up me old kit bag with a smile, to search my archives for some WWI-era tunes...

Subject: Other WWI Songs
From: Ireland O'Reilly
Date: 31 Jul 98 - 12:18 PM

That thread about the Battle of Jutland got me thinking about other WWI songs (both songs about and from that time period). I'm interested in songs of the early part of this century. In fact, I'm interested in the early part of this century in general. There is not a whole lot written about the first world war, but there is a lot of peotry. (the poems of Wilfred Owen, Sigfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke, etc.) I'm sure there are several songs as well. Anybody know any?