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With Germany's invasion of Poland
on September 1, 1939, the Second World War began.
Not surprisingly, some of the earliest songs related
to the war were romantic ballads that were imported
from England. Some of these were memorable, instant
classics. Others had lackluster sales in the United
States until after Pearl Harbor, when their lyrics
of separation and longing for a happier time resonated
with powerfully with an American audience. One
of the first big war-themed hits was a song that
wasn't even intended to be a war song, "A
Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." Written
by Eric Maschwitz and Manning Sherwin for the
London revue New Faces/An Eric Maschwitz Revue, it was a top seller in the United States because
of its quality. For English citizens, the song
took on even more meaning after the Dunkirk disaster
two months later and the subsequent Battle of Britain. |
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Other notable romantic ballads from England include
"We'll Meet Again", Roy King and Stanley
Hill's "I'll Pray For You," and "When
the Lights Go On Again (All Over The World), and
"Silver Wings in The Moonlight." Because
these latter two didn't catch on in the United
States until After Pearl Harbor, they'll be discussed
later.
A few Canadian songs wafted
down from north of the border, presumably before
the war in Western Europe began. One of these, by comedians Al and Bob Harvey,
was a tribute to British entertainer Dorothy Ward,
who was well known with her husband Shaun Glenville
for her Pantomime and variety routine. At the
outbreak of WWII, Dorothy was among the first
entertainers to tour France to entertain the troops.
She became known as Mademoiselle from the
Maginot Line after her hit number of the
same name. |
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When the war for Western Europe commenced in 1940,
the Low Countries and France were stunned by Hitler's Blitzkrieg, or, "lightning war."
Despite facing
superior forces and equipment, the Nazis employed
new military doctrine derived from the lessons
of World War I trench warfare, and deprived the
enemy of any sort of coherent defense by attacking
swiftly and cohesively. They avoided direct combat
(including the Maginot Line) and instead used
mechanized infantry and self-propelled artillery
to attack enemy communications, logistics, command
and control, and morale. Blitzkrieg found its
way into popular music in an instrumental by Dean
Hudson, and in a song by Una Mae Carlisle, in
a way that probably seems naive in retrospect:
"Blitzkrieg baby, you can't bomb me 'Cause
I'm pleading |
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neutrality...Blitzkrieg baby, you
look so cute, All dressed up in your parachute.
Let that propaganda be Blitzkrieg baby, you can't
bomb me." Eventually, the truncated word
"Blitz" found its way into the American
lexicon, used, for example to describe the defensive
play in American football of rushing the quarterback.
One of
the earliest hints that America might have to
take a more active role in the war comes from
"War Time Blues" by John Lee Williamson,
who recorded as Sonny Boy Williamson, the first
of two artists with that name. He was a pioneer
in the genre of harmonica blues. "War Time
Blues" was recorded on May 17, 1940. Four
days earlier, President Roosevelt had asked congress
for more money for American defense, and two days
before, Elmer Davis had reported on CBS radio,
"There is a growing realization that America
is not properly prepared to defend this hemisphere."
A few weeks later would come the British disaster
at Dunkirk, followed quickly by the fall of France.
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By the summer of 1940
Hitler and the Luftwaffe had turned their attention
to destroying British morale and the RAF in what
would become known as The Battle of Britain. Americans
were, of course, fascinated by the war and devoured
print and radio news. In this rather unusual recording
from June 1940, accordionist Sanford Hertz attempts
to recreate the tension and terror of an air battle
over England.
The fall of France and the dire threat to the
last European democracy inspired several other
war-related songs in October and November 1940. Some
of these songs too were recorded by British or
Canadian artists, but were available in the United
States as imports. These songs include, "There'll Always Be an England", "Till The Lights of London Shine Again", and "The Last Time I saw Paris". Another British recording that found its way to the states is the odd production by Quentin Reynolds |
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called, "Dear Mr. S...". This 4-part open letter to Hitler attempts to directly refute Nazi propaganda efforts in Europe and the United States. It refers to him derisively as "Schicklgruber," the actual surname listed on Hitler's birth certificate, a result of his father's illegitimacy. |
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As the war in Europe progressed, American artists began to write songs expressing their opinions about the war. Wingie Manone noted the efficiency of the new war weapons in his song, "Stop The War (The Cats Are Killing Themselves)". Peter
Cleighton, otherwsie known as Dr. Clayton, had
an idea on how to end the war quickly. His fantasy
of sneaking into Hitler's bedroom in order to
slit the dictator's throat with a razor vocalized
what a growing number of Americans were saying
by 1941. Jazz Gillum also recorded a version of
the song at about the same time but with the title, "War Time Blues". |
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In the closing days before the attack on Pearl Harbor and America's involvement in World War II, two songs struck such a melancholy chord that they were recorded by numerous artists, both in American and abroad. One was a nostalgic yearn for a return to things as they were in England before the war began, "The White Cliffs of Dover." Almost a year later, after America was in the war, the song topped the charts. |
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The other song was the ironic "I Don't Want To Set The World on Fire." Perhaps tinged by the horror of war, the narrator vows to have given up all ambition for worldly acclaim. Instead, he says, "Believe me! I don't want to set the world on fire. I just want to start a flame in your heart." After Pearl Harbor, such simple romantic notions would have to wait at least another four years. |
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