AMERICAN MUSIC DURING
WORLD WAR I, WORLD
WAR II AND VIETNAM
By Alex Margolis, Horace Greeley H.S.
During the Civil War, when soldiers from different states with
varying music backgrounds came together, they brought their
music and when combined, created the style and songs we
know today as “American Music”
Dixie
Battle Hymn of the Republic
When Johnny comes Marching Home
Battle Cry of Freedom
While these songs are not ones usually associated with WWI,
WWII or Vietnam, their tune and style influenced future
American “war” music, including that of the three wars.
WORLD WAR ONE…BEGINS
AMERICAN NEUTRALITY
When war broke out in Europe, Americans recognized the
hard work England was doing on the other side of the pond.
In the first two years of the war, Americans for the most part
were not willing to send their boys off but supported what
Britain was doing against the central powers.
“It’s a long way to Tipperary” was
written in honor of the British fight.
Tipperary is actually in Ireland and
<---- the Tipperary Guards were
“militiamen” of Ireland who were
called up to fight the Central
Powers
AMERICAN NEUTRALITY (cont.)
Americans had been involved in the Spanish-American War
and the mess in Philippines 15 years prior to WWI and were
not in the mood to send their boys to die again. Isolationism
was not unpopular. A very popular song reflecting the
public’s attitude was “Don’t Take My Darling Boy Away”.
The mother in this song is begging
the captain not to take her last son as
she has already lost her husband and
other three sons in service to the
country. The song shows how
Americans did not feel the war was
on in which they should send their
family over to fight in.
“A mother was kneeling to pray
For loved ones at war far away
And there by her side, her one joy and pride,
knelt down with her that day…
Don't take my darling boy away from me,
Don't send him off to war
You took his father and brothers three,
Now you've come back for more
The song continues to describe the
mother’s horror at having the face the
reality that she might lose her husband
and all sons to fight in a war that was
“wrong”
Americans Lean Towards War
As Germany increased its submarine warfare against all
ships, both civilian and military, Americans became more
and more willing to enter the war. Then the Zimmerman
telegraph, which at first was believed to be a fraud,
made way for a huge amount of anti German sentiment
in the United States and on April 6, 1917, Congress
declared war on Germany.
The popular music went from anti-involvement to
patriotic and ready to fight the enemy. There was a shift
from songs like “Don’t Take My Darling Boy Away” to
tunes such as “Liberty Bell” and “America, Here’s My
Boy”
THEN
Much like the North in the
beginning of the Civil War,
Americans believed once they
arrived in Europe, the Germans
would run away. Of course, once
they the soldiers started living in
the trenches, it became a different
story.
NOW
“America, Here’s My Boy”
provided Americans with the
tempo and lyrics that they wanted
to hear at the time.
“Place a gun upon his shoulder,
He is ready to die or do”
Jazz in WWI
Many African Americans fought in WWI, though they were in
segregated units. Within their units, they brought their own
music to Europe in the form of Jazz. When first landing in
France, an African American Jazz band played a jazz form of
La Marseillaise, the national anthem of France. At first the
French soldiers were confused then realized the band was
playing France’s song and proceeded to salute and gave
African American soldiers more respect throughout the
war than the soldiers seen back home in the states.
And possibly the most popular and famous American song
of The Great War…
Johnnie, get your gun,
Get your gun, get your gun,
Take it on the run, On the run,
on the run
Hear them calling, you and me,
Every son of liberty.
Hurry right away,
No delay, go today,
Make your daddy glad
To have had such a lad.
Tell your sweetheart not to pine,
To be proud her boy's in line.
George Michael Cohan, the writer of
“Over There”, was born July 3, 1878.
Prior to WWI, he was very
successful, writing songs for
Broadway such as “You’re a Grand
Old Flag” and “Yankee Doodle
Dandy”.
Cohan wrote this famous song while onboard a train in his
daily commute to New York City.
First performed at a Red Cross fundraiser in 1917 where it
was sung by Charles King.
President Wilson described the song as "a genuine inspiration
to all American manhood”.
By the end of the war, two million pieces of sheet music were
sold and Cohan was awarded an honorary Congressional
medal.
11:00 AM on 11/11/1918 - The Great War Ends
Like most other wars, Americans
were extremely happy to see
their boys again. There were
celebrations in the street and the
day would be remembered as
Armistice Day.
Soon after, Bud Green wrote the
lyrics to “Welcome Home”. In the
album cover, the returning
solider is portrayed in
an almost angelic or godly like figure as according to the
song “Each baby will be glad to see her fighting dad and this
whole nation's proud to see you here.”
In the early afternoon, 23 years after the end of the “the war
to end all wars”, a radio listener in the United States may
have been listening to any radio station when the news flash
came in that America was no longer excluded from the war
happening in Europe and Asia. It wasn’t long until songs
starting coming out about the event, only 10 days for the first
of many to be recorded. After the loss of 2,300 soldiers and
sailors, America began putting out the patriotic songs, much
like it had done in WWI.
Dec. 7, 1941“A date which will live in infamy”
Pearl Harbor Attacked
Home Radio and WWII
While radio communication was
invented in the 19th century and
was used for military purposes in
World War I, it didn’t become
widespread in homes until the
1920s and 30s. Throughout the
war, the government used the radio
to broadcast propaganda and news. The radio also allowed to
the music of the time to be heard by a wider audience which
allowed music to have even more of an influence on American
society. Not until the television became popular a little more
than a decade later, radio became the dominant source for
news and later on, music.
Sammy Kaye born in 1910, was a
conductor of during the “big band”
era in which jazz and swing were
popular. He performed with such
stars as Benny Goodman and
Glenn Miller.
When the Japanese attacked
Pearl Harbor, Kaye wrote a song
appropriately titled “Remember
Pearl Harbor”, a rally cry as can be
seen by the cover, tempo and
lyrics…
“Let’s remember Pearl Harbor, as
we go to meet the foe”
Not only was “Remember Pearl Harbor” one of the first
WWII battle songs, but it was one of the most famous,
(#3 on the charts within weeks) broadcasted heavily and
often sung at social events.
The attack on Pearl Harbor awoke the “sleeping giant” and
immediately created a pro-war and anti-Japanese
sentiment within the United States. War on Japan was
declared the day after. There were no popular anti-war
movements as there were in the first world war and the
music in this case reflected it perfectly here as posters
show American’s wanting to hit back at the “Japs”.
“Remember Pearl Harbor” was followed by a number of
very popular patriotic American songs.
“Kaye’s “Remember Pearl
Harbor” was not the only patriotic
song at the time by any means.
Soon after Pearl Harbor, Frank
Loesser wrote the music and
words to “Praise the Lord and
Pass the Ammunition”. The song
is not only patriotic but with the
lyrics and tempo, proves itself to
be a very good morale booster.
The lyrics say to “Praise the Lord
and Pass the Ammunition and
we’ll all stay
free”. During the time when this song was recorded in 1942,
Americans were gearing up and preparing for war. This song
reflects American’s motivation and teamwork to support the
troops so everyone can “all stay free”.
While most American’s happily
prepared to go to war and many
enlisted, the time came where the
boys stated to be missed and the
boys missed back home. In 1944,
Frank Loesser, writer of “Praise the
Lord and Pass the Ammunition”,
wrote “First Class Private Mary
Brown”, telling the story of a
fictional soldier who met a very
attractive female soldier as he was
being shipped off to fight and can’t
wait to return to see her again.
Frank Loesser
The song reflects many soldier’s
eagerness to go home to see their
family, wives, girlfriends, and home
in general.
“Oh there’ll be bluebirds over, the white cliffs of Dover”
Much like the song “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” in
WWI, “There'll Be Blue Birds Over the White Cliffs of
Dover” is a song written appreciating the fight the Brits
were carrying out against Hitler. Dover and its famous
white cliffs are located southeast England, the closest
city to mainland Europe and Hitler’s air raids. This
song, originally written by Nat Burton, became very
popular and was covered by many artists, including
Glenn Miller and Kate Smith.
Women in the War
As the men went off to fight the
Nazis and Japanese, women
came to the factories to fill their
places. This famous painting --->
by J. Howard Miller, represents
“Rosie the Riveter” the strong,
competent female defense worker.
As songs were being recorded
about the men going off to war,
one song was written about the
women going off the factories,
called “Rosie the Riveter”.
“Rosie the Riveter”
by Redd Evans and John Jacob Leob
"All the day long,
Whether rain or shine,
She's a part of the assembly line.
She's making history,
Working for victory,
Rosie the Riveter.
Keeps a sharp lookout for sabotage,
Sitting up there on the fuselage.
That little girl will do more than a male will do."
As the war was coming to a
close, Benny Goodman, a
famous Jazz musician, wrote
My Guy's Come Back, a song
from the point of a view of a
soldier’s girlfriend or wife,
overjoyed with her partner’s
return.
Benny Goodman
“…No more blues for me, no
more no more, Just good news
for me, Just good news in the
store…”
1954: French pull out of Indochina
1963: Number of U.S. military advisors
in S. Vietnam reaches 15,000
1964: Gulf of Tonkin incident, U.S. retaliates
with air strikes against N. Vietnam
1965: 180,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam…
1968: that number reaches 525,000
1969: Massive Anti War protests pick
up…
The Vietnam War on the home
front was unlike any other
American war. Within months of
first committing troops to
Vietnam, protests began. The
catalyst was a “teach in” at the
University of Michigan (March
25, 1965), where lectures talked
to students about the problem
with America getting involved
with Vietnam and on April 17 of
the same year, around 20,000
students gathered for the first of
many protests in Washington
D.C.
The “hippie” movement began during
this time period and nearly all the
popular songs of the era were anti-war
and remained that way until the war
ended.
“And it's one, two, three, What
are we fighting for ? Don't ask
me, I don't give a damn, Next
stop is Vietnam; And it's five,
six, seven, Open up the pearly
gates, Well there ain't no time
to wonder why, Whoopee!
we're all gonna die.”
“Country” Joe McDonald led
his band “The Fish” in
singing “I Feel Like I'm
Fixin' to Die Rag”. Joe
McDonald served in the
Navy in Vietnam, for two
years before the song was
written in 1965. The
relatively early date the
song was released
combined with the eye
witness writing made the
song very popular. It was
played at Woodstock in
1969.
The song blames the
politicians for the trouble
that draftees, trapped in
“the system” have to go
through and justifies their
wanting to escape it.
Or otherwise known as simply “Creedence” was one of the
most active anti war bands at the time. One of their most
famous, and still remains popular to this day is “Fortunate
Son”. The lyrics tell in first person of someone who has just
been drafted and strongly opposed the idea. While the song
criticized the “system”, it supports the actual soldiers. The
song is still used in anti-war movements as its lyrics are
against war but at the same time, its tempo very motivating
Some lyrics include:
Yeh, some folks inherit star
spangled eyes,
ooh, they send you down to war,
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord,
Lord, why don't they help themselves? oh.
But when the taxman come to the door,
Lord, the house look a like a rummage sale, yes,
It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate one, NO NO
Woodstock, August, 1969
twewetwetwt
The Woodstock festival, actually
held in Wallkill, NY, is considered to
be the most famous music festival of
all time. Taking place in 1969, near
the height of the Vietnam War with
approximately half a million young,
“hippie” attendees, was iconic of the
very strong anti war feeling of the
time. Some musical performers
included Jimi Hendrix (who’s cover
of the “Star Spangled Banner” is
playing now), Joe McDonald,
Credence, Grateful Dead and
others, all influential artists at the
time.
In early May in 1970, protests against military action in
Cambodia took place over the course of a few days at Kent
State University. When the protests turned violent, the Ohio
National Guard was called in.
Four students were killed
when novice troops fired
into the crowed. Two of
the four students were
not part of the protest,
but were actually walking
to class
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (CSNY) wrote
“Ohio”, commemorating the dead students and
aggressively protesting the actions taken by the
Guard. Another song in protest of the U.S. Military
at the time.
“Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long ago...”
The music produced during WWI, WWII and
especially Vietnam have had an impact on our
popular music today. The Vietnam War allowed the
new “rock and roll” to develop to almost the point that
it’s at today.
The change style of the songs over the course of
these three wars is clear. Going from upbeat and
patriotic to anti-war and anti-authority.
One thing is clear. Music will continue to shape and
reflect American’s attitude towards the wars they
send their boys to fight in.
Bibliography
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Frank Loesser." Songwriters Hall of Fame. 1 June 2006
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