{"id":66666,"date":"2023-02-17T14:28:52","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T14:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essays.homeworkacetutors.com\/2023\/02\/the-music-of-world-war-two-music-essay\/"},"modified":"2023-02-17T14:28:52","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T14:28:52","slug":"the-music-of-world-war-two-music-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/the-music-of-world-war-two-music-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"The Music Of World War Two Music Essay"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From Wilhelm Richard Wagner to Irving Berlin, the music of World War II was used on both sides of the conflict to gain support at home and give a feeling of patriotism and boost morale. Interestingly, it was also used as a vehicle to express a vision of government, to attract the enemy troops to propaganda, and encourage the home troops as well. Looking at the music of this time provides insight into the attitudes and cultural tone of the political leaders to all different levels of society<\/p>\n

Adolf was a fanatical admirer of Wagner since his teens. His passion for Wagner knew no bounds and a performance was almost like a religious experience to the young Adolph. Adolph was carried away by Wagner\u2019s powerful musical dramas, the evocation of a heroic, sublimely and distant mystical Germanic past. Adolph\u2019s first and favorite Wagner opera was Lohengrin, which is the saga of a knight of the grail, the epitome of the Teutonic hero, who was sent from the castle of Monsalvat by his father Parzival to rescue Elsa who had been wrongly condemned, but ended up betraying her.<\/p>\n

Adolph\u2019s philosophy was built upon the works of Wagner which can be seen in his statement \u201cThese criminals who wanted do away with me have no idea what would happen to the German people, they don\u2019t know the plans of our enemies, who want to annihilate Germany so that it never can rise again. If they think that the western powers are strong enough without Germany to hold Bolshevism in check, they are deceiving themselves\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I am the only one who knows the danger, and the only one who can prevent it.\u201d The author Ian Kershaw sums up Adolph\u2019s statement \u201cSuch sentiments were redolent, through a distorting mirror, of the Wagnerian redeemer-figure, a hero who alone could save the holders of the Grail, indeed the world itself from disaster \u2013 a latter-day Parsifal.\u201d (page 851).<\/p>\n

German Songs<\/p>\n

Due to Hitler\u2019s fascinating with Wagner and especially the Germanic culture that Wagner promoted, the Nazi\u2019s took a strong interest in promoting the music and culture of their remote ancestors through the use of radio and at the same time promote their propaganda. As with most dictatorial governments the Nazi\u2019s had an obsession with controlling and promoting the culture of the people and as a result the common people\u2019s taste in music was kept secret but many Germans were able to use their radios to listen to Jazz which was hated by Hitler but loved by the world. Soldiers in the German army were \u201cexpected to learn a repertoire of marching songs and traditional songs that they could perform on demand\u201d. (Les Cleveland page 8)<\/p>\n

One of the most popular songs of World War Two was Lili Marlene which was popular with both the German and British forces. Based on the German poem \u201cDas M\u00e4dchen unter der Laterne\u201d which was set to music in 1938. The song was recorded in both German and English versions. Due to the popularity of the song it was used throughout the war not only as a popular song, but a propaganda tool.<\/p>\n

The best understanding of German Music from World War Two has to come from official Nazi government policy. Regrettably as the losers in the war Nazi Songs and German Music from this time period has not been assigned the high heroic status has have British and American popular music of this time period.<\/p>\n

British Songs<\/p>\n

1. I Haven\u2019t Seen Old Hitler A song from the closing period of the war, still alive in the oral tradition.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0The D-Day Dodgers It was widely believed that Lady Astor, MP, had referred to troops in Itaiy as \u2018D-Day dodgers\u2019 because they missed the 1944 landings in Normandy. In fact, these men had seen some of the ugliest fighting in the war. This song \u2013 a riposte from the front \u2013 became a forces\u2019 favourite. The original appears to have been written by Lance-Sergeant Harry Pynn of the Tank Rescue Section, 19 Army Fire Brigade, but the lyrics underwent many variations. This version was collected by Denis Healey when a sapper with the 8th Army in Italy.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Ode to a Gezira Lovely Gezira, an island in the Nile, possessed a sports club much frequented by Allied officers in North Africa. A version of this ode appears in an Imperial War Museum document, Army Songs, compiled by the Intelligence Corps at 8th Army HQ in Italy, 1944.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Tins The humble petrol tin was adapted for many domestic necessities in wartime. This tribute originated among coastal command squadrons stationed in Iceland from 1941. From Ward-Jackson\u2019s Airman\u2019s Song Book.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0The Ballad of Wadi Maktilla A song collected in 1940 by Hamish Henderson, an intelligence officer who served with the 51st Highland Division. The song commemorates \u2018a somewhat abortive raid by the 2nd Camerons on an Italian outpost about 12 miles east of Sidi Barrani.\u2019 From Roy Palmer.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0The Dying Soldier A stark narrative set at Kohima on the Indo-Burmese border, to the tune of the Red River Valley. From Roy Palmer.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 Service Police Song A parody sung to the tune of Offenbach\u2019s Gendarmes\u2019 Duet. Written for an RAF station concert party. From Ward-Jackson.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0Kiss Me Goodnight, Sergeant-Major A hit song written in 1939 by Art Noel and Don Pelosi. Though a product of Tin Pan Alley, it displays a subversive humour that places it firmly in the low concert tradition. Note the comb-and-toilet paper chorus.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0Thanks for the Memory Wartime parody from the collection of Roy Palmer. The 1937 hit, written by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger, was much adapted in World War Two. WAAF officers on a Gas Course in 1941 sang of the \u2018respirator drill, which shook but did not kill \u2013 Pathetic it was.\u2019<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0Come on Chaps One of many similar ribaldries current in World War Two. All shared the same formula: the rhyme calls for an obscenity which is never in fact voiced. (Army Songs)<\/p>\n

11.\u00a0The Firth of Forth A song marvellously \u2018browned off in mood, which was sung with many variants by RAF squadrons in World War Two. The targets in the last verse are the \u2018Ops Room twots\u2019 \u2013 personnel in Operations Room, Headquarters.<\/p>\n

12.\u00a0 Down the Mine A deeply affecting song written by Arthur Smith of Leven, Fife, who was one of many British POWs held by the Japanese at Kinkaseki, Formosa (now Taiwan). Inmates were made to work in a copper mine. The bunsho dono was the camp commander; a chunkle was a pick. From Roy Palmer.<\/p>\n

13.\u00a0The Sailor\u2019s Wife World War Two version of a popular Royal Navy song which is 19th-century or earlier in origin.<\/p>\n

14.\u00a0Longmoor One of many wartime parodies of The Mountains of Mourne. Longmoor Camp is in Hampshire; a similar song targeted Carlisle.<\/p>\n

15. I Don\u2019t Want to Join the Army (medley) The song \u2013 a soldiers\u2019 favourite in both world wars \u2013 leads into a medley of barrack-room verses. Fred Karno was a comedian noted for his ineptitude; the RSC was the Royal Service Corps. The lyric \u2018I\u2019ve Been in the Saddle,\u2019 originally sung by the cavalry regiments, was also relished by WW2 infantrymen. This track is not for the fainthearted.<\/p>\n

16.\u00a0 Bloody Orkney Crushing boredom in an out-of-the-way garrison town. The original, about Orkney, was written by Captain Hamish Blair but many variants were devised. Denis Healey knew it as Sheffield in the Blitz. Airmen sang of \u2018Bloody Shrimpton-Bassett\u2019.<\/p>\n

17.\u00a0We Are the Boys Collected by Dave Townsend from the singing of Ron East of Weston-on-the-Green in Oxfordshire.<\/p>\n

18.\u00a0 Africa Star A soldierly disrespect for campaign medals is exhibited in this song which, like the D-Day Dodgers, takes a sideswipe at Lady Astor. From Roy Palmer.<\/p>\n

19.\u00a0The Sinking of the Graf Spee Song celebrating the sinking of a German pocket battleship by three British cruisers in December 1939. Roy Palmer recalls a Dick Bamber of Tandragee, who \u2018remembered singing this song in pubs during the war and not having to buy a drink because of it.\u2019<\/p>\n

20.\u00a0My Bomber Lies over the Ocean \u2018A pretty little bomber song sung by 175 and other squadrons from 1942\u2019 (Ward-Jackson).<\/p>\n

21.\u00a0When this Bloody War is Over A World War One song still widespread in World War Two. The hymn tune is What a Friend We Have in Jesus.<\/p>\n

22.\u00a0The Gay Caballero A bawdy tale very popular with wartime sevicemen. Versions appear in Roy Palmer and in Army Songs.<\/p>\n

23.\u00a0Onward 15 Army Group Morale in Italy declined late in the war as fighting dragged on and, one after another, Allied commanders left for other theatres. General Mark Clark was an American who took charge of 15 Army Group. This piece, collected by Denis Healey, is also found in Army Songs.<\/p>\n

24.The Highland Division\u2019s Farewell to Sicily A composition by Hamish Henderson \u2013 one of the finest songs of World War Two. The dialect does not obscure its mood of haunting regret for the \u2018puir bliddy bastards\u2019, weary of war, who rest at the waterside. The tune is Farewell to the Creeks, a Gordon pipe march.<\/p>\n

25. \u2018Bless\u2019 \u2019em All This song was current in the forces long before 1940 when Jimmy Hughes and Frank Lake copyrighted an arrangement of it. Bless \u2019em All was the title of their wartime hit. Servicemen used a different verb \u2013 so do we.<\/p>\n

American Songs<\/p>\n

During the war, many people in the US and Great Britain found an escape by listening to the radio. Hit songs were a nice form of catharsis for the public; the lyrics were often about situations the average person could relate to, and it helped the listeners to feel that they were not alone. So, naturally, songwriters wanted to provide music that would be uplifting, encouraging, and of course, patriotic. American Songs<\/p>\n

Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive \u2013 Composer: Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen \u00a91944 The music was written by Harold Arlen and the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and it was published in 1944. It is sung in the style of a sermon, and explains that accentuating the positive is key to happiness. In describing his inspiration for the lyric, Mercer told the Pop Chronicles radio documentary \u201cI went to hear Father Divine and he had a sermon and his subject was \u2018you got to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.\u2019 And I said \u2018Wow, that\u2019s a colorful phrase!’\u201d[1]HYPERLINK \u201c#cite_note-1\u2033[2]<\/p>\n

Be Careful, It\u2019s My Heart \u2013 Composer: Irving Berlin \u2013 From: Movie \u201cHoliday Inn\u201d \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

The Anniversary Waltz \u2013 Composer: Al Dubin and Dave Franklin \u2013 \u00a91941<\/p>\n

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy \u2013 Composer: Don Raye and Hughie Prince \u2013 \u00a91940 The song was written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince, and was recorded at Decca\u2019s Hollywood studios on January 2, 1941, nearly a year before the United States entered World War II but after the start of a peacetime draft to expand the armed forces in anticipation of American involvement. The flipside was \u201cBounce Me Brother With a Solid Four\u201d. The Andrews Sisters introduced the song in the 1941 Abbott and Costello film Buck Privates, which was in production when they made the record. \u201cBoogie Woogie Bugle Boy\u201d was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song.<\/p>\n

It is closely based on an earlier Raye-Prince hit, \u201cBeat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar,\u201d which is about a virtuoso boogie-woogie piano player.<\/p>\n

Storyline of the song<\/p>\n

According to the lyrics of the song, a renowned Illinois street musician is drafted into the U.S. Army during the Wartime Draft imposed by the Roosevelt Administration. In addition to being famous, the bugler was the \u201ctop man at his craft,\u201d but the Army had little use for his talents and he was reduced to blowing the wake up call (Reveille) in the morning. This caused the musician to become dejected: \u201cIt really brought him down, because he couldn\u2019t jam.\u201d The commanding officer took note of the blues man\u2019s blues and went out and conscripted more musicians to assemble a band to keep the bugler company. Thereafter, the bugler found his stride, infusing the military marches with his inimitable street flair: \u201cHe blows it eight to the bar \u2013 in boogie rhythm.\u201d Even his morning calls attain some additional flavor: \u201cAnd now the company jumps when he plays reveille.\u201d But, the bugler is not only empowered, he is possibly spoiled, because thereafter, \u201cHe can\u2019t blow a note if the bass and guitar\/Isn\u2019t with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do Nothin\u2019 Till You Hear From Me \u2013 Composer: Bob Russell and Duke Ellington \u2013 \u00a91943<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Get Around Much Anymore \u2013 Composer: Bob Russell and Duke Ellington \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Sit Under The Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me) \u2013 Composer: Lew Brown, Sam. H. Stept, and Charlie Tobias \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

Ev\u2019ry Time We Say Goodbye \u2013 Composer: Cole Porter \u2013 From: Musical \u201cSeven Lively Arts\u201d \u2013 \u00a91944<\/p>\n

Have I Stayed Away Too Long \u2013 Composer: Frank Loesser \u2013 \u00a91943<\/p>\n

The Fleet\u2019s In \u2013 Composer: Johnny Mercer and Victor Schertzinger \u2013 From: Movie \u201cThe Fleet\u2019s In\u201d \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

I Came Here To Talk For Joe \u2013 Composer: Lew Brown, Charlie Tobias, and Sam Stept \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

I Don\u2019t Want To Set The World On Fire \u2013 Composer: Sol Marcus, Bennie Benjamin, and Eddie Seiler \u2013 \u00a91941<\/p>\n

I Don\u2019t Want To Walk Without You \u2013 Composer: Frank Loesser and Jule Styne \u2013 From: Movie \u201cSweater Girl\u201d \u2013 \u00a91941<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll Be Seeing You \u2013 Composer: Irving Kahal and Sammy Fain \u2013 From: Musical \u201cRight This Way\u201d \u2013 \u00a91938<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll Be Home For Christmas \u2013 Composer: Kim Gannon and Walter Kent \u2013 \u00a91943<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll Get By (As Long As I Have You) \u2013 Composer: Roy Turk and Fred A. Ahlert \u2013 \u00a91928<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll Never Smile Again \u2013 Composer: Ruth Lowe \u2013 \u00a91939<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll Walk Alone \u2013 Composer: Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne \u2013 From: Movie \u201cFollow The Boys\u201d \u2013 \u00a91944<\/p>\n

I\u2019m Beginning To See The Light \u2013 Composer: Don George, Johnny Hodges, Duke Ellington, and Harry James \u2013 \u00a91944<\/p>\n

In The Blue Of Evening \u2013 Composer: Tom Adair and D\u2019Artega \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

Is You Is, Or Is You Ain\u2019t (Ma\u2019 Baby) \u2013 Composer: Billy Austin and Louis Jordan \u2013 From: Movie \u201cFollow The Boys\u201d \u2013 \u00a91943<\/p>\n

Juke Box Saturday Night \u2013 Composer: Al Stillman and Paul McGrane \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Been A Long, Long Time \u2013 Composer: Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne \u2013 \u00a91945<\/p>\n

Kiss The Boys Goodbye \u2013 Composer: Frank Loesser and Victor Schertzinger \u2013 From: Movie \u201cKiss The Boys Goodbye\u201d \u2013 \u00a91941<\/p>\n

The Last Time I Saw Paris \u2013 Composer: Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern \u2013 From: Movie \u201cLady, Be Good\u201d \u2013 \u00a91940<\/p>\n

Long Ago (And Far Away) \u2013 Composer: Ira Gershwin and Jerome Kern \u2013 From: Musical \u201cCover Girl\u201d \u2013 \u00a91944<\/p>\n

Love Letters \u2013 Composer: Edward Heyman and Victor Young \u2013 From: Movie \u201cLove Letters\u201d \u2013 \u00a91945<\/p>\n

Moonlight Becomes You \u2013 Composer: Johnny Burke and James Van Heusen \u2013 From: Movie \u201cRoad To Morocco\u201d \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

Moonlight In Vermont \u2013 Composer: John Blackburn and Karl Suessdorf \u2013 \u00a91944<\/p>\n

My Shining Hour \u2013 Composer: Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen \u2013 From: Movie \u201cThe Sky\u2019s The Limit\u201d \u2013 \u00a91943<\/p>\n

A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square \u2013 Composer: Eric Maschwitz and Manning Sherwin \u2013 \u00a91940<\/p>\n

One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) \u2013 Composer: Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen \u2013 From: Movie \u201cThe Sky\u2019s The Limit\u201d \u2013 \u00a91943<\/p>\n

Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition! \u2013 Composer: Frank Loesser \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

Saturday Night Is The Loneliest Night Of The Week \u2013 Composer: Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne \u2013 \u00a91944<\/p>\n

Seems Like Old Times \u2013 Composer: John Jacob Loeb and Carmen Lombardo \u2013 \u00a91946<\/p>\n

Sentimental Journey \u2013 Composer: Bud Green, Les Brown, and Ben Homer \u2013 \u00a91944<\/p>\n

Somebody Else Is Taking My Place \u2013 Composer: Dick Howard, Bob Ellsworth, and Russ Morgan \u2013 \u00a91937<\/p>\n

Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year \u2013 Composer: Frank Loesser \u2013 From: Movie \u201cChristmas Holiday\u201d \u2013 \u00a91943<\/p>\n

A String Of Pearls \u2013 Composer: Eddie DeLange and Jerry Gray \u2013 \u00a91941<\/p>\n

That Old Black Magic \u2013 Composer: Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen \u2013 From: Movie \u201cStar Spangled Rhythm\u201d \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

There\u2019s A Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere \u2013 Composer: Paul Roberts and Shelby Darnell \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

They\u2019re Either Too Young Or Too Old \u2013 Composer: Frank Loesser and Arthur Schwartz \u2013 \u00a91943<\/p>\n

When The Lights Go On Again (All Over The World) \u2013 Composer: Eddie Seiler, Sol Marcus, and Bennie Benjamin \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

This Is My Country \u2013 Composer: Don Raye and Al Jacobs \u2013 \u00a91940<\/p>\n

What Do You Do In The Infantry \u2013 Composer: Frank Loesser \u2013 \u00a91943<\/p>\n

(There\u2019ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs Of Dover \u2013 Composer: Nat Burton and Walter Kent \u2013 \u00a91941<\/p>\n

Why Do They Call A Private A Private? \u2013 Composer: Frank Loesser and Peter Lind Hayes \u2013 From: Army Special Services Revue \u201cAbout Face\u201d \u2013 \u00a91944<\/p>\n

You And I \u2013 Composer: Meredith Willson \u2013 \u00a91941<\/p>\n

You\u2019d Be So Nice To Come Home To \u2013 Composer: Cole Porter \u2013 From: Musical \u201cSomething To Shout About\u201d \u2013 \u00a91942<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll Never Know \u2013 Composer: Mack Gordon and Harry Warren \u2013 \u00a91943<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Wilhelm Richard Wagner to Irving Berlin, the music of World War II was used on both sides of the conflict to gain support at home and give a feeling of patriotism and boost morale. Interestingly, it was also used as a vehicle to express a vision of government, to attract the enemy troops to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6044,9395],"tags":[8669,8657,6963,8668,6862,8340,1383],"class_list":["post-66666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","category-write-a-word-essay-music","tag-academic-paper-assistance","tag-affordable-college-homework","tag-custom-essay-writing","tag-dissertation-writing-services","tag-online-homework-help","tag-thesis-help-uk","tag-write-my-essay-online"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66666\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}