The History Book Club discussion
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
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MUSIC - WORLD WAR I
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http://www.ww1photos.com/PackUpYourTr...
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Sung By Henry Burr
http://www.ww1photos.com/IfYouWereThe...
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Sung By John McCormack
http://www.ww1photos.com/RosesOfPicar...
(I kind of liked this one)
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Sung By Ernie Mayne
http://www.ww1photos.com/LloydGeorges...
The song itself was essentially a good-natured complaint against David Lloyd George's decision to stamp down on alcohol consumption during wartime (which he argued adversely impacted the rate of industrial and munitions production), both in terms of limiting licensing hours and in weakening the actual alcohol content of beer. His actions, while unpopular, were nevertheless successful: consumption of alcohol dipped by half.
Source: Firstworldwar.com
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Available here are three versions of the former Russian national anthem, God Save The Tsar! The anthem was selected following a competition in 1833 and was composed by Prince A. V. Lvov, with lyrics by Vasily Zhukovsky. The anthem lasted until the revolution of 1917.
The first two versions of the song available here are by unknown performers and date; it is assumed that both pre-date the start of the First World War in 1914. Use the player above to listen to all three versions; the first two are performed without lyrics.
The third version was performed by Shatrov circa 1903 and contains the song's lyrics.
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/go...
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This one you will have heard versions of:
Although actually written in 1911 by Nat D. Ayer (music) and Seymour Brown (lyrics), Oh, You Beautiful Doll remained popular throughout the war years.
It has featured in numerous major movies including The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (starring Astaire and Rogers) in 1939, For Me and My Gal in 1942 (sung by Judy Garland), Broadway Rhythm in 1944 and The Eddie Cantor Story in 1953.
The song was popularised by The American Quartet; the version available in the player above was performed by Billy Murray and The American Quartet and was recorded in 1912.
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/oh...
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This one you will have heard too.
http://www.ww1photos.com/ForMeAndMyGi...
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http://www.ww1photos.com/SendMeAwayWi...
Some great posters in the slide show accompanying the vintage audio.
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Send out the Army and The Navy,
Send out the rank and file,
Send out the brave old Territorials
They'll face the danger with a smile.
Send out the boys of the Old Brigade
Who made Old England free
Send out me brother, his sister and his mother
But for Gawd's sake don't send me.
http://www.ww1photos.com/ButForGawdsS...
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http://www.ww1photos.com/KiboshOnKais...
On the link there is the video with this song performed from the movie and the lyrics.
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On the link there is the video with this song performed from the movie and the lyrics.
http://www.ww1photos.com/Goodbye-eeVi...
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On the link there is the video with this song performed from the movie and the lyrics.
http://www.ww1photos.com/AreWeDownhea...
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http://www.ww1photos.com/BombedLastNi...
On the link there is the video with this song performed from the movie and the lyrics.
Dark humor, lyrics poignant. Funny in a sad way. Also about being gassed.
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On the link there is the video with this song performed from the movie and the lyrics.
http://www.ww1photos.com/PlayingLeapf...
A play on all of the staff officers - sung to Glory Glory Halleluia
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On the link there is the video with this song performed from the movie and the lyrics.
http://www.ww1photos.com/HushHereCome...
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On the link there is the video with this song performed from the movie and the lyrics.
http://www.ww1photos.com/OnTheOldBarb...
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On the link there is the video with this song performed from the movie and the lyrics.
http://www.ww1photos.com/TheresALongL...
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On the link there is the video with this song performed from the movie and the lyrics.
http://www.ww1photos.com/ForwardJoeSo...
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On the link there is the video with this song performed from the movie and the lyrics.
http://www.ww1photos.com/KeepTheHomeF...
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On the link there is the video with this song performed from the movie and the lyrics.
http://www.ww1photos.com/WhenTheyAske...
Very sad:
There was a front but damned if we knew where.
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This is one that has certainly been heard of.
http://www.ww1photos.com/Mademoiselle...
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Different version
http://www.ww1photos.com/BombedLastNi...
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Sung To The Tune
"There Is A Happy Land Far Far Away"
Where are our uniforms?
Far, far, away.
When will our rifles come?
P'raps, p'raps some day.
All we need is just a gun
For to chase the bloody Hun.
Think of us when we are gone,
Far, far away.
http://www.ww1photos.com/WhereAreOurU...
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Sung To The Tune
"Moonlight Bay (Song Sung in the Trenches)
http://www.ww1photos.com/Gillymong.html
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http://www.ww1photos.com/ForwardJoeSo...
(only melody with lyrics)
Forward Joe Soap's army, marching without fear,
With our old 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.
Forward Joe Soaps army, marching without fear,
With our old commander, safely in the rear.
Amen.
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http://www.ww1photos.com/FredKarnosAr...
FRED KARNO'S ARMY - "A humorous nickname applied to the new British army raised during the First World War, in allusion to Fred Karno, the comedian and producer of stage burlesques, whose real name was Frederick John Westcott (1866-1941). At the time Fred Karno's company was a household name through its high-spirited and eccentric performances. The well-known Army chorus, sung to the tune of 'The Church's One Foundation,' runs:
We are Fred Karno's army,
Fred Karno's infantry;
We cannot fight, we cannot shoot,
So what damn good are we?
But when we get to Berlin
The Kaiser he will say
Hoch, hoch, mein Gott
Vot a bloody fine lot
Fred Karno's infantry.
There are variations, of course, and in the Second World War 'Old Hitler' was substituted for 'The Kaiser.' The name is also applied derisely to other nondescript bodies. Karno himself adopted his stage name, when he and two gymnast colleages filled in at a music hall for an act called 'The Three Carnos.' His agent Richard Warner, suggested they change the 'C' to a more distinctive 'K.'
See also Harry Tate's Navy."
From "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable" revised by Adrian Room (HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1999, Sixteenth
From Encyclopedia.com
Karno's army, Fred a type of chaotic organization, named for the comedian Fred Karno (1866–1941); his ‘Army’ was the company which gave a solid start or valuable experience to many comedians. ‘We are Fred Karno's army, the ragtime infantry’, perhaps referring to ‘Kitchener's Army’, was one of the trench songs of the First World Wa
Source: The Phrase Finder
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A dark humor type of melody sung to When Irish Eyes are Smiling
http://www.ww1photos.com/WhenVeryLigh...
When Very lights are shining,
Sure they're like the morning light
And when the guns begin to thunder
You can hear the angel's shite.
Then the Maxims start to chatter
And trench mortars send a few,
And when Very lights are shining
'Tis time for a rum issue.
When Very lights are shining
Sure 'tis like the morning dew,
And when shells begin a bursting
It makes you think your times come too.
And when you start advancing
Five nines and gas comes through,
Sure when Very lights are shining
'Tis rum or lead for you.
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http://www.1914-1918.net/asc.htm
The ASC Remounts Company:
http://www.1914-1918.net/ASC_Remounts...
The ASC To War Have Gone (Song Sung in the Trenches)
The ASC to the war have gone,
At the base at Havre you will find them,
Their shining spurs they have girded on;
But they have left their bayonets behind them.
"What's the sense" cried the ASC,
"Of taking to France the damn things?
Their only use, it seems to me;
Is to open the Tommy's jam tins."
But thank the Lord for ASC,
The pride and joy of the nation,
Who bring our bully and jam and tea,
And our Maconochie ration.
Here's good luck to the ASC,
Though if they'd never come, boys,
I bet we'd get all the srawberry,
Instead of apple and plum, boys
http://www.ww1photos.com/TheASCToWarH...
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Sung To The Tune "Mountains Of Mourne" (Song Sung in the Trenches)
Oh, old Gallipoli's a wonderful place
Where the boys in the trenches the foe have to face,
But they never grumble, they smile through it all,
Very soon they expect Achi Baba to fall.
At least when I asked them, that's what they told me
In Constantinople quite soon we would be,
But if war lasts till Doomsday I think we'll still be
Where old Gallipoli sweeps down to the sea.
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We don't grow potatoes or barley or wheat,
So we're on the lookout for something to eat,
We're fed up with biscuits and bully and ham
And we're sick of the sight of yon parapet jam.
Send out steak and onions and nice ham and eggs
And a fine big fat chicken with five or six legs,
And a drink of the stuff that begins with a "B"
Where the old Gallipoli sweeps down to the sea.
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Repeat First Verse
http://www.ww1photos.com/OldGallipoli...
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Sung To The Tune "I Am The Ruler Of The Queen's Navee" from Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore (Song Sung in the Trenches)
http://www.ww1photos.com/NowImAGenera...
Four bar intro
When I was a lad I went to war
As an air mechanic in the Flying Corps
I dished out dope, and I swung the prop,
And I polished up my talents in the fitters shop;
And I did my work so carefully
That now I'm a General at the Ministry.
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As an air mechanic I made such a name,
A sergeant-major I soon became,
I wore a tunic and Sam Browne belt
And my prescence on parade was most acutely felt.
My prescence was felt so overwhelmingly
That now I'm the General at the Ministry.
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As a sergeant-major I made such a hit
That I demanded further scope to do my bit;
Of my lofty ways there was never any doubt
And they sent me up in a Nieuport Scout,
I flew so well over land and sea
That now I'm the General at the Ministry.
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I flew in France with such amazing zest
That the King grew tired of adorning my chest,
People boosted McCudden, Bishop and Ball,
But readily agreed that I out-soared them all.
My merits were declared so overwhelmingly
That now I'm a General at the Ministry.
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So mechanics all, wherever you be,
If you want to climb to the top of the tree,
If your soul isn't fettered to a pail of dope,
Just take my tip-there's always hope,
Be smart in the strand at saluting me
And you'll be General at the Ministry.
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Repeat Last Verse.
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If you were the only Boche in the trench,
And I had the only bomb,
Nothing else would matter in the world today,
I would blow you in to eternity.
Chamber of Horrors, just made for two,
With nothing to spoil our fun;
There would be such a heap of things to do,
I should get your rifle and bayonet too,
If you were the only Boche in the trench,
And I had the only gun.
http://www.ww1photos.com/IfYouWereThe...
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Sung To The Tune "I Wore A Tulip" (Song Sung in the Trenches)
I wore a tunic,
An old khaki tunic,
While you wore your civvie clothes,
We fought and bled at Loos
While you were on the booze,
The booze no one here knows.
You were with the wenches
While we were in the trenches
Facing the German foe.
Oh, you were a-slacking
While we were attacking
The Boche up the Menin Road.
http://www.ww1photos.com/IWoreATunic....
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And when they asked us,
How dangerous it was.
Oh! We'll never tell them,
No, we'll never tell them.
We spent our pay in some cafe.
And fought wild women night and day,
T'was the cushiest job we ever had.
And when they asked us,
And they're certainly going to ask us.
The reason why we didn't win the
Croix de Guerre.
Oh! We'll never tell them,
No! We'll never tell them.
There was a front but damned if we knew where.
http://www.ww1photos.com/WhenTheyAske...
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Available below is a 1901 recording of the Boer War sentimental favourite Goodbye Dolly Gray. An extract of the song's lyrics are also provided.
The song was written by Will D. Cobb (lyrics) and Paul Barnes (music). Although it gained widespread fame during the Boer War it had earlier been sung in the U.S. during the U.S.-Spanish War of 1898. The song saw renewed airings with the onset of the First World War in 1914.
Use the player below (link at bottom of message box) to listen to a vintage rendition of the song performed by the hugely popular Canadian singer Harry MacDonough in 1901.
Goodbye Dolly Gray
I have come to say goodbye, Dolly Gray,
It's no use to ask me why, Dolly Gray,
There's a murmur in the air, you can hear it everywhere,
It's the time to do and dare, Dolly Gray.
So if you hear the sound of feet, Dolly Gray,
Sounding through the village street, Dolly Gray,
It's the tramp of soldiers' true in their uniforms so blue,
I must say goodbye to you, Dolly Gray.
Goodbye Dolly I must leave you, though it breaks my heart to go,
Something tells me I am needed at the front to fight the foe,
See - the boys in blue are marching and I can no longer stay,
Hark - I hear the bugle calling, goodbye Dolly Gray.
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/go...
Source:Firstworldwar.com
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I think everybody has heard of this one.
Based on the traditional U.S. tune Yankee Doodle Dandy, George M. Cohan penned The Yankee Doodle Boy some thirteen years before America's entry into World War I against the Central Powers, when it formed part of his highly successful Broadway musical Little Johnny Jones.
The song (also known as I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy) comprised a straightforward patriotic celebration of America. In 1942 a movie based around Cohan's life - he was also the composer of possibly the best-known U.S. song of World War I, Over There - was released, featuring James Cagney as Cohan. Still well-regarded today the movie won a collection of Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Cagney.
The version of the song was recorded in 1905 by Billy Murray. Use the player and link at the bottom of the page.
Yankee Doodle Boy
I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy
A Yankee Doodle, do or die
A real live nephew of my uncle Sam's
Born on the Fourth of July
I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart
She's my Yankee Doodle joy
Yankee Doodle came to London
Just to ride the ponies
I am a Yankee Doodle boy
I'm the kid that's all the candy
I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy
I'm glad I am
So's Uncle Sam
I'm a real live Yankee Doodle
Made my name and fame and boodle
Just like Mister Doodle did
By riding on a pony
I love to listen to the Dixey strain
"I long to see the girl I left behind me"
And that ain't a josh
She's a Yankee, by gosh
Oh, say can you see
Anything about a Yankee that's a phoney?
I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy
A Yankee Doodle, do or die
A real live nephew of my uncle Sam's
Born on the Fourth of July
I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart
She's my Yankee Doodle joy
Yankee Doodle came to London
Just to ride the ponies
I am a Yankee Doodle boy
Father's name was Hezikiah
Mother's name was Ann Maria
Yanks through and through
Red, white and blue
Father was so Yankee hearted
When the Spanish War was started
He slipped upon his uniform
And hopped up on a pony
My mother's mother was a Yankee true
My father's father was a Yankee too
And that's going some
For the Yankees, by gum
Oh, say can you see
Anything about my pedigree that's phoney?
I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy
A Yankee Doodle, do or die
A real live nephew of my uncle Sam's
Born on the Fourth of July
I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart
She's my Yankee Doodle joy
Yankee Doodle came to London,
Just to ride the ponies
I am a Yankee Doodle boy
http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/ya...
The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The First World War (other topics)When This Bloody War is Over (other topics)
The Last Post: World War I and the Music of Grief (other topics)
The Big Show: My Six Months with the American Expeditionary Forces (other topics)
Music of the First World War (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Max Arthur (other topics)Alwyn Turner (other topics)
Don Tyler (other topics)
Elsie Janis (other topics)
John Keegan (other topics)
These for the most part are all vintage audios. When you click on the url, you will also get the lyrics and hear the vintage audio.
Sources: Below
You can get the lyrics from:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/When-This-Blo...
Here is a link to the site where the vintage audio, slidehows and lyrics were:
http://astore.amazon.co.uk/ww1photos-... (in terms of amazon from the world war i index)
Here is the generalized url for the vintage audio:
http://www.ww1photos.com/WW1MusicInde...