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Songs about the Great War (WWI)
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: GUEST,Muttley Date: 06 May 05 - 09:54 AM Sorry, Folks - I entered the posting above listed as "GUEST" and forgot to sign it. However, I'm actually a member and I keep coming up as 'Guest' - any ideas why? Mutt |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: GUEST Date: 06 May 05 - 09:52 AM In regard to this thread, there is a song entitled "Willie McBride's Reply" which is sung and played to the same tune as "No Man's Land: The Green Fields of France. I often use war-theme songs to get across the message to kids I teach around ANZAC time here in Oz and around Remembrance Day as well. This one is great as it deals with the WHY's of going to war - especially if you didn't have to. PS - TRIVIA: Willie McBride actually existed, too. He was Pvte William McBride; Service Number - 21406 of the Royal Inniskillen Fusiliers and was killed on 10 / 2 - 16, probably in a skirmish following the Battle of Loos or in the early 'manoeuvrings' prior to the campaign for the Somme. On a lighter side: there's always the Royal Guardsmen's "Snoopy versus the Red Baron" series :-) |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: lamarca Date: 05 May 05 - 06:50 PM There's a most excellent and grim song about young deserters "For the Sake of Example" written by the House Band - discussed here on the Mudcat: http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=60894 There is an organizations trying to secure posthumous pardons for all the young men shot "For the Sake of Example" during WWI - you can read some interesting articles about the history of this abominable policy here: http://www.shotatdawn.org.uk/ Coope, Boyes and Simpson have written many songs about WWI for their performances at the Peace Concerts - check out the No Masters web site for a list of albums: http://www.nomasters.co.uk/ and their website for a discussion of their work: http://www.coopeboyesandsimpson.co.uk/the_first_world_war.htm I particularly like Lester Simpson's "Standing in Line", too... |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Hawker Date: 05 May 05 - 06:15 PM The Cornwall Songwriters new show 'Unsung Heroes - The Lost Gardeners of Heligan' is a tale about the gardeners that go away to the first world war, It has fine songs on this theme and there is a CD and a book of the entire script, which would be a useful resource. Fine songs such as Jon Heslop's 'Poor Murdered Men' Roger Bryant and Mike O'Connor's 'Foreign Fields' Tony Truscott's 'Where The Sun Meets The Shadows and Lucy Burrow's 'Battlefield Tree ' are all worth a listen. I have copies of the CD available for sale, please pm me for details Cheers, Lucy |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: GUEST,bfdk Date: 05 May 05 - 05:42 PM Matt Armour's "Hills of Caithness". From the sleeve of Danish/Scottish Kontraband's CD Northstar: "Some of the saddest victims of war are still alive long after the peace treaty has been signed." |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: GUEST,Allen Date: 05 May 05 - 04:35 PM The Great War is only a contradiction in terms if you confuse the word with 'good'. Anyway, there is a song about Gallipoli, performer that comes to mind are the Fureys. Andy M. Stewart wrote one about Flanders, and John Tams's 'Scarecrow', from his Home Service days. Also, there are songs in Turkish about Gallipoli. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Susanne (skw) Date: 04 May 05 - 06:38 PM Then there's Mike Harding's 'Christmas 1914', another song about the 'Christmas Truce', and Eric Bogle has written one titled 'All the Fine Young Men'. Don't know whether there are two songs of that title, or whether this is the song Boab referred to above as 'from Carolyn Hobson's album'. 'Tunes of Glory' / 'Margaret and Me' [When Margaret Was Eleven] by Pete St John is another fine song, as is 'Standing in Line' by Lester Simpson. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Micca Date: 04 May 05 - 06:03 PM Rich Joy, That it is slightly sentimental but was very popular at the time among the soldiers who took part on the Western Front is why I used the first 2 lines as the Coda to a song I wrote about the ghosts of the First World War missing returning home 100 years later. "Theres a long, long trail a winding into the land of my dreams Where Nightingales are singing and a pale moon gleams" |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Snuffy Date: 04 May 05 - 04:03 PM Vimy by Tanglefoot |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: rich-joy Date: 04 May 05 - 06:33 AM I have just found out that "There's a Long, Long, Trail" was MUCH beloved by my Oz Grandfather, who died as a result of a WWI TB infection (he was a Medical Orderly in France). The song was written c. 1914 by Alonzo Elliot (music) and Stoddard King (words) and I have a great version on CD by John Roberts and Tony Barrand ("A Present From the Gentlemen" Golden Hind, 1992), where they also do "The Valley of the Shadow" and "The Old Barbed Wire" from the Great War. It may be classed as a rather "sentimental" song by today's world, but I have long been drawn to it and love to sing it in harmony with my partner - strange that I should now discover this link to my ancestral past too!! Cheers! R-J |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Torctgyd Date: 04 May 05 - 06:03 AM Definitely Dancing at Whitsun , which I find very moving every time I listen to it. About the effect of the losses on village life. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Keith A of Hertford Date: 04 May 05 - 03:11 AM I love that one. And it is an interesting curiosity being set in the sixties while harking back to tragedy of 1914-18. As mentioned above, the US experience having arrived in the final year can not compare with those countries that lost a whole generation of young men. Keith. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Santa Date: 03 May 05 - 04:43 PM Unless I missed it, no-one has mentioned "Dancing at Whitsun ". The superb "Big Pete" Rodger version by the Taverners is probably unavailable now, but I did find a Tim Hart version on a collection recently. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Herga Kitty Date: 03 May 05 - 04:32 PM Thirteen Florins (Hartest 1915) is about the pals from Hartest in Suffolk - definitely WW1. Les Sullivan has written several good songs about the Great War, particularly Roses of No Man's Land, Menin Gate, Harvest of Iron and Jutland. Robb Johnson wrote "Cold in the trenches tonight" many years before "Gentle Men". Kitty |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: gnomad Date: 03 May 05 - 04:15 PM Another worthy, neglected, one of E Bogle's songs is For King and Country, this one relates to the Somme. Mike Sparks' Thirteen Florins (Hartest 1915) doesn't mention what war is involved, but the events speak to me quite clearly as being WWI, A fine song given a haunting treatment by Graeme Knights on his CD Voices From Afar. I may be posting out of turn here and don't wish this to turn into the familiar "arrived late" row about US participation, but I suspect that the folk memory of WWI in Britain, Australia and New Zealand may be stronger than that in the US because a larger proportion of the population in these countries took part, or had relations who did so. Also a larger proportion of their populations either died or were severely affected in some other way. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Dave'sWife Date: 03 May 05 - 07:38 AM There is a song on THE "Western Wall" CD that Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt did together called '1917' which is a lament by a prostitute about the soldiers she entertains. it's kinda creepy at the end as a chorus sings some requiem lines in latin over the last hummed chorus. Pretty song - very sad content. |
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Subject: LYr Add: ROY BROWN AND WOP MAY From: Sandy Mc Lean Date: 03 May 05 - 05:13 AM Two Canadian RFC pilots, Wop May and roy Brown, were engaged in a dogfight with The Red Baron over ANZAC lines. Airfire and groundfire brought him down. ROY BROWN AND WOP MAY "It's the Baron!" in terror they cried. Eighty men tried him. Eighty men died. With the German Flying Circus along for the ride Nothing seemed likely to turn the tide. CHORUS: Through the haze flew Roy Brown and Wop May, Two Royal Air Force fly boys from Canadi-ay. "Stop the Flying Circus!" they'd toast. "Down with the Baron!" they'd drink to their host. There was fear in the sky when the Red Baron did fly, For numb was his nerve, and firm his despise. Eighty small emblems appeared as his brand, Each an opponent, shot down by his hand. For Manfred was a sniper who wore no disguise. From a fortress in Breslau came bullets with eyes. From above, he'd swoop out of the sun. On the doomed Allied pilot he'd open his guns! CHORUS 'Twas in spring of '18, over Amiens one day, On his maiden mission, the rookie Wop May Felt the roar of a tri-plane hurtling his way. There were death lights flashing! He veered from the fray And a free-fall.., he tried to escape but in vain, For the Baron was right on his heels again. And he prayed, "Take me home, Lord. I'm finished, I fear." When high from the sky, Captain Brown did appear! And with guns ablaze, from above and below, The Great Baron's plane became lifeless and slow. And it fluttered and fell to the ground Where the great ace, Von Richtofen, dying was found. CHORUS |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Liz the Squeak Date: 03 May 05 - 03:39 AM Keith - I worked in a Military museum... I've transcribed the reports and catalogued the photos and sketches! I didn't say they did little arial combat, they did originally start out on recon missions. Any ghosts that might want to visit me should stop off with my great great uncles Eli, William, John and Henry first and ask who still remembers them and what they did for us. LTS |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Keith A of Hertford Date: 03 May 05 - 03:11 AM Hi Liz,
You might be visited by a few angry RFC ghosts for saying they did little actual fighting in WW1. Also, Normandy Orchards refers just to "squaddies" and "licentious soldiery" so I think Keith M was thinking more of the infantrymen and tank crews who were flung into Normandy. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Liz the Squeak Date: 03 May 05 - 02:53 AM 'The Gift of Years' has been recorded by Martyn Wyndham-Read on his 'Sunlit Plains' CD, and is a wonderful perspective from one who survived and hasn't really come to terms with it (I believe there is a psychological term for it, something like survivors syndrome). And if anyone can find my CD of it (I have just the empty case here) I'd be very grateful! I have a very old piece of sheet music called 'Songs our boys sang' if you're interested. It was printed in the 1920s so it is a fairly accurate record of what they were actually singing 'over there'. It has things like 'Tavern in the Town' and other songs of home. Normandy Orchards is about young lads learning to fly so it's more WWII, however there was an air presence in WWI, but they were called the Royal Flying Corps and did more reconnaissance work than actual combat. If you want a bit of 'lighter' entertainment - 'Snoopy versus the Red Baron' is loosely based on the WWI ace pilot Baron von Richthofen. LTS |
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Subject: Lyr Add: JUST A GIGOLO (Brammer/Casucci/Caesar) From: sixtieschick Date: 03 May 05 - 02:29 AM "Just a Gigolo" was originally a lament about a World War I veteran. The introductory verse, usually omitted, explains it. Lyrics by Irving Caesar Music by Leonello Casucci, 1929 . 'Twas in a Paris cafe, that I first found him He was a Frenchman, a hero of the war But war was over, and here's how peace had crown'd him: A few cheap medals to wear, and nothing more Now ev'ry night, in this same cafe, you'll find him And as he strolls by, the ladies hear him say: "If you admire me, please hire me: A gigolo who knew a better day." Just a gigolo Everywhere I go People know the part I'm playing Paid for every dance Selling each romance Ev'ry night some heart betraying There will come a day Youth will pass away Then what will they say about me? When the end comes I know they'll say: Just a gigolo As life goes on without me. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: webfolk Date: 02 May 05 - 03:59 PM what about "the old mans tale" [actually The Old Man's Song] alex glasgow [actually Ian Campbell] which mentions the 'great war' by that name When the great war came alone i didn't hesitate I took me country's shilling and i went to do me bit.... webfolk geoff of "bit on the side" |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: GUEST Date: 02 May 05 - 03:03 PM Martin Graebe wrote the song From Severn, By the Somme, which actually expresses the viewpoint of a man left behind, which I find quite moving. It's been recorded by Martyn Wyndham Read amongst others. A CD which has a number of interesting songs based around this topic is another Coope Boyes and Simpson one, with the choir Wak Maar Proper "Christmas Truce/Kerstbestand" - I've probably spelled all that incorrectly! |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: GUEST,Keith A Date: 02 May 05 - 01:59 PM Woops! just scroll up from where my link takes you. (PPS there are a couple of songs about naval battle of Jutland in forum) |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: GUEST,Keith A o Hertford Date: 02 May 05 - 01:54 PM The lyric of "Home Lads Home" [Homeward] first appeared in 1916, which gives it an authenticity lacking in the songs even of great songwriters who were born long after the events they write of.
it's message is poignant and most moving.
Keith. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: dick greenhaus Date: 02 May 05 - 12:01 PM Try a search in DigiTrad for @WWI |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: The Walrus Date: 02 May 05 - 11:04 AM Sorry folks. I've just realised that I indicated footnotes and didn't put them in. <1> Great War:- Puck, "...The term Great War is a bit of a contradiction in terms..." Great, as in size, rather than quality. It was (nominally) the largest war the world had seen to date (some would disagree, I'm sure). <2>"...in order to avoid punishment went around the corner and re-enlisted in the local infantry battalion..." It would be difficult to bring major charges to bear on a man who left a moderately safe posting to join a unit likely to engage in more hazardous service (if the artillery unit is not under orders to move and the Army is crying out for infantrymen). W |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: GUEST, DaveH Date: 02 May 05 - 10:52 AM Two immediately spring to mind..... Robb Johnson's "Gentle Men" song cycle (or whatever you'ld call it) about his grandfathers; both survived Ypres, first performed unforgettably at Passchendael Kirk for the 1997 Peace Concert. Also Maggie Holland's "Number 4071, Private Bennett", about a soldier in the Hampshires shot for "desertion" and buried in the Poperinghe New Cemetery. Both on Irregular Records. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: The Walrus Date: 02 May 05 - 10:51 AM Both my parents were born during the Great War<1>, indeed, family legend has it that my maternal Grandfather heard that my Grandmother and mother were ill and, when he couldn't get leave to visit then, walked home (Royal Garrison Artillery on the South Coast) to London, made sure they were OK then, in order to avoid punishment went around the corner and re-enlisted in the local infantry battalion <2>. My paternal grandfather was a regular sailor (cruisers) and spent most of his time with the Grand Fleet. As for songs about (rather than from) the Great War, try "Maginot Waltz" (yes the title's anachronistic (Maginot didn't make it into French politics until between the wars), but it does give a feeling of that last Bank Holiday of peacetime 1914. Walrus |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Dave'sWife Date: 02 May 05 - 10:19 AM This discussion of the fine Eric Bogle songs leads me to ask a question. Is The Great War remembered THAT much more in OZ than it is in the US or do they just have better songs? I suppose we could chalk it up to the US's late entrance into the War .. that Americans aren't as haunted by that War as your average Australian or UKer family is. Does anyone agree that this is it? My grandparents were all children during the Great War, so their memories of it were always vague. I had some great-uncles who took part, but they were so much older than my Grandfather; I never knew them and my dad barely knew them. Since my parents were children during WWII.. same deal. Viet Nam had a more direct impact on our lives since my Dad was in danger of being reactivated and I had an 'uncle' die there (he was engaged to my aunt). However, for some reason I became fascinated and horrified by WWI when I was in High School and started studying up on the music, art and theater of the time. So.. for the American Mudcatters who are older than I am.. was WWI a big deal in you families or is mine typical? |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Bob the Postman Date: 02 May 05 - 09:28 AM The words to Till We Meet Again can be found in this thread |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 02 May 05 - 09:09 AM 2 more Eric Bogle songs - 'The Gift of Years' (an old digger goes back to Gallipoli 75 years later) 'As If He Knows' (about the Lighthorsemen who shot their horses because they could not take them back to Australia & did not want to leave them behind) sandra |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: rich-joy Date: 02 May 05 - 08:43 AM Aaaahhhhh, Stewie! I'm getting my Metsers and my Hemphills mixed up!!!! "Watchers of the Water" - THAT'S the song I was meaning!(duh!) Thanks, Mate! Cheers! R-J |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Michael Date: 02 May 05 - 05:46 AM The CD 'We're Here Because We're Here' Concert Party: Passchendaele' Willem Vermandere, Jim Boyes, Barry Coope,Lester Simpson, Norbert Detaeye, Pot Depoorter, Freddy Desmedt, Freddy Possenier. No Masters Co-operative Ltd. NMCD8 has songs from and about WW1. mike |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Dave'sWife Date: 02 May 05 - 05:40 AM I second the recommendation of Eric Bogle's song "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" - it's a very powerful song and since it is about Gallipoli and Suvla Bay.. I think you'd find it most interesting. If you have the old Irish Rover's LP, Tales To Warm Your MInd.. give a listen to the song 'The Village of Brambleshire Wood' about a village that's lost a generation of young men to the Great War. It's not available on CD. I always found that one to be a great statement on the futility of War. I'm sure if you search the Mudcat on WWI, you will turn up many threads with lots of songs. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Sandy Mc Lean Date: 02 May 05 - 05:15 AM Another one that I do is "Till We Meet Again". The words can be found with a forum search so I won't post them. This song should probably be in DT but I can't find it. The chorus was used for the closing theme of the Don Messer Show. Marg Osbourne sang it so beautifully on that show. Sandy |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Stewie Date: 02 May 05 - 03:43 AM Sorry, R-J, I cannot recall any Metsers song on the subject, but I do recall Paul Hemphill's fine 'Watchers of the Water' the lyrics of which I posted HERE. --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: rich-joy Date: 02 May 05 - 02:32 AM Ted Egan also had a recording and accompanying book, c. 1986, about The Anzacs, which included Nerys Evans (Ted's wife) singing his song "A Song for Grace" - guaranteed to bring the tears ... I used also to be moved in the 60s by Lionel Long - yes! :~)) - singing a setting of Leon Gellert's poem "Anzac Cove" ... And there's Judy Small's "Mothers, Daughters, Wives" Maybe Stewie can recall that good Paul Metsers song - I'm not having much luck googling at present ... Cheers! R-J |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: GUEST,Gerry Date: 02 May 05 - 01:46 AM Australian duo Us Not Them (Jason & Chloe Roweth) have recently released an album called The Riderless Horse which is mostly (entirely?) poetry written by soldiers during the war and set to music more recently. http://mail.speedlink.com.au/users/usnothem/ |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: rich-joy Date: 02 May 05 - 01:31 AM Didn't ex-Kiwi, now Yookay, Paul Metsers (recently discussed in a thread on Mudcat) have a good one??? Cheers! R-J |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Boab Date: 02 May 05 - 01:14 AM Title track in Carolyn Robson's "All the Fine Young Men"; good song. And Eric Bogle's songs "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and "No Man's Land" ['the Green Fields of France'>] |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: GUEST,cromdubh Date: 01 May 05 - 04:34 PM There is another song about the Christmas ceasefire, called "A Silent Night (Christmas 1915)" written by Cormac McConnell and recorded by his brother Mickey and Clare singer Gerry Lynch. A very powerful song. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: Willa Date: 01 May 05 - 04:08 PM Keith Marsden's wonderful song Normandy Orchards should get the message through to young people. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: GUEST,Bainbo Date: 01 May 05 - 02:54 PM There's John McCutcheon's Christmas in the Trenches, about that incident in 1914 when German and Allied troops laid down their arms and played football, and then apparently had to be removed because they refused to fight any more. The link here makes reference to an anachronism in the lyrics - gas, in 1914. There's also the question of the war being referred to as World War 1. The song's narrator talks about the incident happening "two years ago" when no one would have called it World War 1, because they could have no conception that there was going to be a second one. Not strictly about the war, but Bill Caddick wrote a song called The Writing of Tipperary which tells how stage performer Jack Judge took a bet in 1912 that he could write a song in a day. The song was It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary, and was a hit at just the right time to be taken up by soldiers going off to war two years later. Bill frames this story with references to what was happening on the world stage in the build-up to war, and there's a nice version on June Tabor's A Quiet Eye (Topic TSCD510 ) |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: masato sakurai Date: 01 May 05 - 09:20 AM Visit First World War Era - History - The Virtual Gramophone. |
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Subject: Lyr Add: HOMESICK (Walter MacFarlane) From: Sandy Mc Lean Date: 01 May 05 - 08:34 AM I usually sing "Homesick" around Nov. 11th. It was written on the battlefield during the Great War by Walter MacFarlane of Upper Margaree, Cape Breton. It expresses how a soldier is caught between his dreams of returning home with his devotion to duty. I think that the last verse is especially powerful. The tune is a variant of "Where the River Shannon Flows" which is in the DT, but I can't get the midi to play. (help Joe!) Slainte, Sandy HOMESICK (Walter MacFarlane) 1. There's a sunny vale of splendor Where in youth I loved to wander, And no place can I love fonder, No, no matter where I be. 'Tis a spot I'll love forever, Where the elm branches quiver By the silv'ry Margaree River, Flowing gently to the sea. 2. There's a home beside the river Where the roses bloom forever; Tho' by oceans from it severed, Still its magic charm I feel. There's a nook that's fair and flowery, And a thrill I long for hourly: When the grey trout, hooked securely, Sends a message to the reel. 3. There in boyhood's happy morning How I loved to go a-roaming While the night owl, early homing, Cast a bleary eye at me. And a song that used to cheer me Still in fancy lingers near me; 'Twas a robin, ever cheery, Singing gaily from a tree. 4. While in foreign climes I wander, Absence makes my heart grow fonder, And the memories of its grandeur Seem to linger here with me. And when sleep has dulled my senses, From beyond the blue expanses Comes a vision that entrances Of my childhood home, Margaree. 5. Though the Rhineland claims my vision While I serve with my division, Still I long to end my mission And return across the sea To the fields I left behind me While the flowing tears did blind me. But the laws of war still bind me And a soldier I must be. |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: masato sakurai Date: 01 May 05 - 08:05 AM The Great War by Various Artists (CD). |
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Subject: RE: Songs about the Great War From: beardedbruce Date: 01 May 05 - 06:50 AM http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=222 http://www.webspawner.com/users/songsaboutwwi/ http://www.besmark.com/ww1b.html |
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Subject: Songs about the Great War From: puck Date: 01 May 05 - 04:48 AM The term Great War is a bit of a contradiction in terms, but I have a huge interest in it as I was 'brought up' [some would say dragged up] by a veteran of the Gallipoli expedition.
My twin sister teaches History in a Chichester and each year takes a group of students to the Flanders trenches and is keen to use folk song and other music as part of the educational experience.
I know the obvious ones such as Green fields of France [No Man's Land] and Tipperary {It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary} and The Rose of York. Can members help to provide other songs please. |
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