Music of war

[RustyRelics]

Music has been a part of war since... war. The martial drums kept men to the beat of a march, the camp songs made men dream of returning home, and then you have those rowdy army songs that were just fun to sing.

Here are some of my favorite songs from WWI, WWII, The American Civil War, and the interwar songs that were sung in the wars. Heck, there will even be songs and soundtracks from war movies. Feel free to add your favorites as well!




Drei Lillien, was originally a melody first composed in England in the 16th Century. It made it's way over to Germany over time, and was sung by Germans in some form as early as 1830. This was a popular song during the World Wars by the common foot soldier.



Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition: The title alone screams, "'Murica"! This song was written as a response to Pearl Harbor.




I don't know much about this song other than it's pretty freakin' cool.

[rbminis]

Why two duplicate threads?
Ralph.

[RustyRelics]

This is by far the best rendition of the ever popular song, Dixieland. The song was composed by a pro-union man, ironic because it was sung by Confederate soldiers during the war. The yankees made their own "diss track" version of the song as well which many folks don't know about. It is also a little known fact that Abraham Lincoln loved the song, and had a band play it for him just after the war before he was assainated.




The Battle Cry of Freedom was the favorite song for Federal troops during the Civil War. Again, I believe this to be the bet version of the song.




Tenting Tonight on the old campground was sung by soldiers both North and South every night in camp by homesick soldiers. This was arguably one of the most popular songs for both sides during the entire war, rivaled only by Just Before the Battle Mother.



This song was actually banned in Southern Camps and limited in Union camps because officers believed this song led many soldiers to desert. It is a very sad song, but it hit home for many, and it was a somber song sang before many of the largest battles of the Civil War.

- - ------- - -

Why two duplicate threads?
Ralph.

What do you mean?

[rbminis]

What do you mean?

You started two duplicate threads in the same section.
Music of war
Ralph.

[RustyRelics]

You started two duplicate threads in the same section.
Music of war
Ralph.

I don't know how that is possible, I stayed on the page even after I posted it. ??? I'm sorry about that, I don't know what happened.

[MAP]

Very nice Rusty. Like the Civil War songs. Iconic. Nothing like a banjo!

[LoyalHistorian]

Great thread, Rusty! I will be adding some of my favorites later!

-Robyn

[LoyalHistorian]

Okay, Rusty! I love war songs, so I could probably add a few dozen myself. Here's a few, just to get started:

So, this song may sound a little silly, but I really like it and it has a lot of historical context to it. It's "Goober Peas". It wasn't published in sheet music until 1866, but many lyric variations were sung during the Civil War in the South. Goobers are peanuts. The South was dealing with food shortages the last couple years of the war. Peanuts were originally seen as being "low class" or for farm animals, but quickly became a staple throughout the South during the war because it was a good source of protein. Peanuts were used for many other things during the Civil War, too. A form of coffee was made out of it; it was used in soups and stews; the oil could be used for locomotive lubricant and was substituted for whale oil in lamps; and it became a lard substitute in cooking. After the war, peanuts stayed popular. Any of you from the South today can attest to the multitudes of boiled peanut shacks all around Georgia and surrounding states. I have to admit, I enjoy boiled peanuts with a Coke when I'm in Georgia. Funny little thing - the guy who published the sheet music attributed the words for the song to "A. Pindar" and music to "P. Nutt" (both synonyms for goobers, haha). The version I picked is by Burl Ives, because really, who doesn't love Burl Ives?



One that I have to mention as a proud Texan is "The Yellow Rose of Texas". The earliest written form of the song was in 1836 but one version was officially published in 1858. Though it was a popular marching song in the Civil War, it was based on the heroic act of a woman during the Texas Revolution. The "yellow rose" refers to Emily West, an indentured servant originally from Bermuda and brought to Texas. During the Texas Revolution, she had been left at the homestead with a young male worker to load flatboats of supplies for Texian soldiers when needed. The Mexican Army under General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna came through the area trying to track down and destroy Texian General Sam Houston's Army. Santa Anna became enamored by the beautiful Emily and decided to camp there and have her for himself as a spoil of war. Being a proud Texian, she told the young male worker to go warn Sam Houston of Santa Anna's position there near San Jacinto. Emily preoccupied Santa Anna all through the night and morning, allowing Sam Houston and his men to surround the Mexican Army, taking them completely by surprise. A very short 18 minute battle ensued on April 21, 1836, with the Texians being victorious. Santa Anna was quite literally caught with his pants down and sent fleeing, but he was captured and surrendered to Sam Houston. This ended the Texas Revolution and Texas became its own nation from 1836 through 1845. When her owner came back and discovered what she had done, he immediately freed her from her term of indentured servitude, and praised her heroism to anyone that would listen.



One of my favorite song writers of patriotic music is George M. Cohen. He was a famous vaudeville entertainer, singer, songwriter, and composer. The one I'll mention here is the song "Over There". It was written by Cohen in 1917 after he heard that the United States had declared war on Germany. That same day he had practically written and composed the whole song. It became a rallying march for the men who were going overseas to Europe to help fight the Germans in the Great War. Though it was most popular in WWI, it had a resurgence of popularity in WWII when the US became involved again against Germany. In 1936, Cohan was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by FDR for writing the song, for being “a man who has been responsible for the recruiting of thousands of American soldiers during the World War, a man who has brought up the morale of the American people, who by his patriotic songs made young men go to the recruiting office and join the colors". The version I chose is actually sung by George M. Cohen himself.



The last song I've chosen (at least for now!) is a US Army cadence or "Jody" (sometimes spelled "Jodie"). A cadence is a call-and-response song sung by military personnel while marching. They've been called "Jodies" because the songs often feature a character named Jody that has stayed state-side during war and takes advantage of the soldier's girlfriend. There are lots of different cadences and different lyrics. The one that always stuck with me was the Jody sung in the 1949 movie "Battleground". The clip I found was from the end of that movie. The cadence is based on the "Duckworth Chant" that was originally attributed to Private Willie Lee Duckworth in 1944.



Thank you for starting this thread, Rusty! This is a lot of fun!

-Robyn

[RustyRelics]

Okay, Rusty! I love war songs, so I could probably add a few dozen myself. Here's a few, just to get started:

So, this song may sound a little silly, but I really like it and it has a lot of historical context to it. It's "Goober Peas". It wasn't published in sheet music until 1866, but many lyric variations were sung during the Civil War in the South. Goobers are peanuts. The South was dealing with food shortages the last couple years of the war. Peanuts were originally seen as being "low class" or for farm animals, but quickly became a staple throughout the South during the war because it was a good source of protein. Peanuts were used for many other things during the Civil War, too. A form of coffee was made out of it; it was used in soups and stews; the oil could be used for locomotive lubricant and was substituted for whale oil in lamps; and it became a lard substitute in cooking. After the war, peanuts stayed popular. Any of you from the South today can attest to the multitudes of boiled peanut shacks all around Georgia and surrounding states. I have to admit, I enjoy boiled peanuts with a Coke when I'm in Georgia. Funny little thing - the guy who published the sheet music attributed the words for the song to "A. Pindar" and music to "P. Nutt" (both synonyms for goobers, haha). The version I picked is by Burl Ives, because really, who doesn't love Burl Ives?
[video=youtube_share;T5r1gSYO5RQ]https://youtu.be/T5r1gSYO5RQ[/veo]


One that I have to mention as a proud Texan is "The Yellow Rose of Texas". The earliest written form of the song was in 1836 but one version was officially published in 1858. Though it was a popular marching song in the Civil War, it was based on the heroic act of a woman during the Texas Revolution. The "yellow rose" refers to Emily West, an indentured servant originally from Bermuda and brought to Texas. During the Texas Revolution, she had been left at the homestead with a young male worker to load flatboats of supplies for Texian soldiers when needed. The Mexican Army under General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna came through the area trying to track down and destroy Texian General Sam Houston's Army. Santa Anna became enamored by the beautiful Emily and decided to camp there and have her for himself as a spoil of war. Being a proud Texian, she told the young male worker to go warn Sam Houston of Santa Anna's position there near San Jacinto. Emily preoccupied Santa Anna all through the night and morning, allowing Sam Houston and his men to surround the Mexican Army, taking them completely by surprise. A very short 18 minute battle ensued on April 21, 1836, with the Texians being victorious. Santa Anna was quite literally caught with his pants down and sent fleeing, but he was captured and surrendered to Sam Houston. This ended the Texas Revolution and Texas became its own nation from 1836 through 1845. When her owner came back and discovered what she had done, he immediately freed her from her term of indentured servitude, and praised her heroism to anyone that would listen.
[video=youtube_share;LArGlfEVYqM]https://youtu.be/LArGlfEVYqM[/veo]


One of my favorite song writers of patriotic music is George M. Cohen. He was a famous vaudeville entertainer, singer, songwriter, and composer. The one I'll mention here is the song "Over There". It was written by Cohen in 1917 after he heard that the United States had declared war on Germany. That same day he had practically written and composed the whole song. It became a rallying march for the men who were going overseas to Europe to help fight the Germans in the Great War. Though it was most popular in WWI, it had a resurgence of popularity in WWII when the US became involved again against Germany. In 1936, Cohan was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by FDR for writing the song, for being “a man who has been responsible for the recruiting of thousands of American soldiers during the World War, a man who has brought up the morale of the American people, who by his patriotic songs made young men go to the recruiting office and join the colors". The version I chose is actually sung by George M. Cohen himself.
[video=youtube_share;yGsVguiM5ao]https://youtu.be/yGsVguiM5ao[/veo]


The last song I've chosen (at least for now!) is a US Army cadence or "Jody" (sometimes spelled "Jodie"). A cadence is a call-and-response song sung by military personnel while marching. They've been called "Jodies" because the songs often feature a character named Jody that has stayed state-side during war and takes advantage of the soldier's girlfriend. There are lots of different cadences and different lyrics. The one that always stuck with me was the Jody sung in the 1949 movie "Battleground". The clip I found was from the end of that movie. The cadence is based on the "Duckworth Chant" that was originally attributed to Private Willie Lee Duckworth in 1944.
[video=youtube_share;nDQvYE8sbc8]https://youtu.be/nDQvYE8sbc8[/veo]


Thank you for starting this thread, Rusty! This is a lot of fun!

-Robyn

The Yellow Rose of Texas is/was a popular and easy tune to whistle, and can be found in many cartoons that I watched growing up. I'll bet half of the kids my age heard it at least once, but don't know what it is!

[RustyRelics]

I know this song and the one below have been overused in every WWII German related YouTube video, but I shall post them here anyway. Westerwald is one of my absolute favorites to sing (albeit badly in broken German and Gibberish), and is special to me because nearly all of my German ancestory hails from the Western region of Germany along the Rhine, where this song is set.





Arguably one of the best known songs of WWII, Erika is often labeled as a Neo-Nazi song by uninformed dolts and those in charge of YouTube. Erika was one of the most popular songs the German army sang during the entire war, and was sang for years afterwards. It's one of my favorites.