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| Unknown Soldier |
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| Do you know who this is? |
~Music of World War 1~
The Great War produced popular, moral
boosting marches and touching ballads. These songs varied greatly from the songs actually sung by the soldiers themselves,
which included fear, death, sex and sardonic humour. Like the postcards of their time, songs were meant to strengthen
the resolve of the general populace. The depth of tenderness and humour employed in the music of this era,
is matched only by the irony of colossal tragedy and consequence reaped by the war. When death was incorporated
within popular song lyrics, it was implied through longing, remembrance of those left behind and lost love, as may be
seen in the following examples.
Links to WW1
Music related websites, Wav and MP3 files are listed below.
WW1 Music Links
WW1 Music Related Websites
Roses Of Picardy
She
is watching by the poplars,
Colinette with the sea blue eyes,
She is watching and longing and waiting,
Where the
long white roadway lies.
And a song stirs in the silence,
As the wind in the boughs above,
She listens and starts
and trembles,
'Tis the first little song of love....
"Roses are shining in Picardy,
In the hush of the silvery
dew.
Roses are flow'ring in Picardy,
But there's never a rose like you!
And the roses will die with the summertime,
And
our roads may be far apart,
But there's one rose that dies not in Picardy!
'Tis the rose that I keep in my heart.
And
the years fly on forever,
'Til shadows veil their skies,
But he loves to hold her little hands
And look into her
sea blue eyes.
And she sees the road by the poplars,
Where they met in the bygone years,
For the first little
song of the roses
Is the last little song she hears:
"Roses are shining in Picardy,
In the hush of the silvery
dew.
Roses are flow'ring in Picardy,
But there's never a rose like you!"
"And the roses will die with the summertime,
And
our roads may be far apart,
But there's one rose that dies not in Picardy!
'Tis the rose that I keep in my heart!"
Roses of Picardy
Words
by
Fred E. Weatherly
Music by
Haydn Wood
Copyrighted 1916
Chappell & Co.Ltd.
Dear Old Pal Of Mine
All
my life is empty, Since I went away,
Skies don't seem to be so clear,
May some angel sentry, Guard you while I stray,
And
fate be kind to join us some sweet day.
Oh, how I want you, Dear old pal of mine,
Each night and day I pray you're
always mine.
Sweet-heart may God bless you, Angel hands caress you,
While sweet dreams rest you, Dear old pal of mine.
Dearie I'm so lonely, How I miss your smile,
And your tender loving way,
I just want you only, Want you all
the while
May God decree I have you back some day.
Oh, How I want you, Dear old pal of mine,
Each night and day
I pray you're always mine.
Sweet-heart may God bless you, Angel hands caress you,
While sweet dreams rest you, Dear
old pal of mine.
In the years following the end of
The Great War, the public still welcomed songs of tragic love, lost to the battllefields. In 1928 Fred Waring's Pennsyvanians
recorded A Love Song of Alsace Lorraine.
A Love Tale of Alsace Lorraine A boy, a girl, a glance,
Two eyes that met by chance,
There came a war romance I'm told,
And
here's the story,
That's marked by fate,
of love and glory, They still relate.They kissed while under a blanket of moon beams,
A Love Tale of Alsace Lorraine.
They kissed and fashioned a castle of June dreams,
A Love Tale of Alsace Lorraine.
To arms,
to battle, a stifled groan,
In memry's hallway she
walks alone,
That's why his flow'rs are fragrant
and freshened with tear drops,
A Love Tale of Alsace Lorraine.
They
rain.
In dreams the martial beat,
Of soldiers in the street,
And then she runs to meet her boy,
She
may be yearning, She offers pray'r,
He's not returning,
He waits out there.
They kissed while under a
blanket of moon beams,
A Love Tale of Alsace Lorraine.
They kissed and fashioned a castle of June dreams,
A Love Tale of Alsace Lorraine.
To arms, to battle, a stifled groan,
In
memry's hallway she walks alone,
That's why his flow'rs
are fragrant
and freshened with tear drops,
A Love Tale of Alsace Lorraine.
They rain.
A Love Tale of Alsace Lorraine
Words & Music by
Lou
Davis & J. Fred Coots
Copyright 1928 by
Spier & Coslow Inc
International Poetry Competition
& E-zine
All works copyrited, including Between These Shores & Between
These Shores International Poetry Comptition & E-zine & Just A Thought: Words On Women's Experience, and are
the sole properties of A. C. Geraghty & P. C. Sidebottom, 2001, except where indicated.
Vintage sheet music & vintage postcards from the
collections of A. C. Geraghty and P. C. Sidebottom
Golden Lotus:
Awarded the US National Women's History Award
for Excellence in Women's Related Poetry & Essay,
1987
A Very Brooklyn Wedding:
First published in HVLM~
Hudson Valley Literary Magazine,
Fall 2002
and presented on Radio Sheffield,
July 2004
A Pound Of Flesh:
First published in HVLM~
The Hudson Valley Literary Magazine,
Winter 2002/2003
"Sheffield On The Internet-Information source for Sheffield, South Yorkshire and the Peak District for business, tourists
and expats."
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