Songs about WW1 and the aftermath. in Pre War Blues Forum

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Songs about WW1 and the aftermath.

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ccc

Songs about WW1 and the aftermath.

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 36

Oct 24 10 5:52 AM

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For a project on WW1.

Looking for Bluessongs about WW1 - and the homecoming in 1919.

If you have links to lyrics or performers, please post them here.

Thanks,

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The Blindman

#1

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 7079

Oct 24 10 1:19 PM

There's 5 WW1 Blues songs here!

Blindman

Aberdeen - Scotland

user posted image

Not even Forumer is Gonna Put Me Down!

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Professor Shorthair

#2

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 616

Oct 24 10 1:25 PM

There's also "Going to Germany" by the Memphis Jug Band, although it mostly just hints at going to war.

My Webpage

My Blog

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MaskedMarvel

#3

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 6919

Oct 24 10 2:14 PM

Last Kind Words Blues / Geechie Wiley is another song about WW1.

"if I die in the German war I want you to send my money to my mother in law"

Heres more or less the lyrics with the help of the pre war Blues Yahoo list people.

Last Kind Words Blues / Geechie Wiley

The last kind words I heard my daddy say, Lord,
the last kind words I heard my daddy say:
"If I die, if I die in the German war,
"I want you to send my money,
send it to my mother-in-law
"If I get killed, if I get killed,
please don't bury my soul
"Ah, child, just leave me out,
let the buzzards eat me whole."
When you see me coming,
look [a]cross the rich man's field
If I don't bring you flour,
I'll bring you bolted meal
I went to the depot,
I looked up at the sun Crying,
if some train don't come,
there'll be some walkiin' done
My mama told me,
just before she died Lord,
said to daughter, don't you be so wild
The Mississippi River,
you know it's deep and wide
I can stand right there,
see my babe from the other side
What you do to me, baby,
it never gets out of me
I mean to see you,
[if i] have to cross the deep blue sea

All the above written is in my opinion unless it is someone else's opinion, or a fact.

Location: Zur Moshe, Israel

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Artie the Cat

#4

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 890

Oct 24 10 5:02 PM

Don't know how accurate these lyrics are, But Blind Willie Johnson's "When the War Was On" is excellent and memorable on the subject of WW I...Don't know who to give credit for transcribing the lyrics, but it seems quite accurate (considering the perpetual rasp in Willie's voice)...

CHORUS: Everybody, well, when the war was on, (3x)
Well, they registered everybody, when the war was on.

Well, it's just about a few years, and some months ago,
United States come and voted for war.

Sammy called the men from the East and the West:
"Get ready boys, we got to do our best."

CHORUS

Well, President Wilson, sittin' on his throne,
Makin' laws for everyone.
Didn't call the black man, to lay by the white,
[guitar replaces words].

CHORUS

Price on the letter, gettin' to raise,
Gettin' no better, but the same old thing.
Eight cents on the dollar, ride the train,
Freight's gettin' cheaper, take a ride again.

CHORUS

Yes, you measure your BARLEY, measure your wheat,
Half a pound of sugar for a person a week. Folks didn't like it,
they blamed Uncle Sam,
Have got to save the sugar for the boys in France.

CHORUS

Well, boys whupped the Germans, home at last,
Would have brought the kaiser, but he run too fast.
Couldn't blame the kaiser for a-leavin' the land,
Uncle Sammy had the greatest share of muscle and man.

CHORUS

Tax gettin' heavy, have to pay,
Help the boys, over across the sea.
Mud and water up to their knees,
Faced the kaiser for you and me.

CHORUS

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Tom Rushen

#5

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 4476

Oct 24 10 7:46 PM

It's a bit oblique as a reference, but it has long been suggested that this couplet from Charley Patton's "Down The Dirt Road Blues" is an off-hand mention of soldiering in WW1:

Some people say them oversea blues ain't bad
(spoken: Why, of course they are)
Some people say them oversea blues ain't bad
(spoken: What was a-matter with 'em?!)
It must not a-been them oversea blues I had

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ccc

#6

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 36

Oct 26 10 7:47 AM

Wow, thanks everybody.

Keep em coming....

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Pan

#7

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 677

Oct 26 10 11:25 AM

Not exactly a blues song, but here you go anyway:

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," lyrics by Yip Harburg, music by Jay Gorney (1931)

They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob,
When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always there right on the job.
They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead,
Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?

Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime;
Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,
Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,
Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,
And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time.
Why don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,
Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,
Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,
And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time.
Say, don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4yT0KAMyo

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Blues Shark

#8

[-]

Posts: 1893

Oct 28 10 11:08 PM

Ignore this post, Artie beat me to it!

"And I was thinking how the world should have cried, on the day Jack Kirby died"

Now down in Black Bottom, that is so they say
They drink good moonshine and stay drunk all day.

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cih

#9

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 1283

Oct 29 10 10:29 AM

There's a few songs about the bonus that veterans received much later... can't remember the details but it's all in Guido Van Rijn's book 'Roosevelt's Blues'

example, Cripple Clarence Lofton - 'When The Soldiers Get Their Bonus'

Also (this might be of interest), the effect of the war on jazz and artistic output in general in both the US and Europe...

From Jazz as Decal for the European Avant-Garde:
"The acoustic transition from war to peacetime was heralded not only by drums but by brass: �the echoes of the last bugle were being drowned out by the music of innumerable jazz bands. Fittingly, James Reese Europe�who had pioneered the era of modern dance in tandem with Vernon and Irene Castle, and whose military unit introduced dozens of European cities to the potential of �ragging� and �the jazz�� concluded a 1919 Chicago performance with a sonic depiction of trench warfare called �On Patrol in No Man�s Land,� for which the house lights were extinguished to accentuate the acoustic menace. This synaesthetic tactic was precisely what the Italian Futurists had pioneered, evoking combat with vocal extemporizing and noise machines (intonorumori). The combat precedent for jazz was not lost on English writer R. W. S. Mendl, whose 1927 book The Appeal of Jazz pointedly characterizes it as �musical alcohol� meant to relax soldiers on leave from the trenches. Mendl attributes to early jazz �a reflection of the elemental instincts of war fever."

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ccc

#10

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 36

Nov 1 10 2:27 PM

This is an amazing one I got from a buddy :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAKfy2W70Qg

Last Kind Word Blues

The last kind word I heard my daddy say
Lord, the last kind word I heard my daddy say
If I die, if I die in the German War
I want you to send my body, send it to my mother, Lord
If I get killed, if I get killed, please don't bury my soul [me in a hole]
I p'fer just leave me out, let the buzzards eat me whole
When you see me comin', look 'cross the rich man's field
If I don't bring you flowers, I'll bring you buzzard meat
(Guitar Solo)
I went to the depot, I looked up at the sign
Cry some train don't come, there'll be some walkin' done
My momma told me, just before she died
Lord, listen daughter, don't you be so [blind]
The Mississippi River, you know it's deep and wide
I can stand right here, see my place from the other side
What you do to me baby, it never gets out of me
I [mean?] I'll see you, if I have t� cross the deep blue sea

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Pan

#11

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 677

Nov 1 10 2:57 PM

QUOTE (ccc @ November 01, 2010 02:27 pm)

This is an amazing one I got from a buddy :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAKfy2W70Qg

Last Kind Word Blues

The last kind word I heard my daddy say
Lord, the last kind word I heard my daddy say
If I die, if I die in the German War
I want you to send my body, send it to my mother, Lord
If I get killed, if I get killed, please don't bury my soul [me in a hole]
I p'fer just leave me out, let the buzzards eat me whole
When you see me comin', look 'cross the rich man's field
If I don't bring you flowers, I'll bring you buzzard meat
(Guitar Solo)
I went to the depot, I looked up at the sign
Cry some train don't come, there'll be some walkin' done
My momma told me, just before she died
Lord, listen daughter, don't you be so [blind]
The Mississippi River, you know it's deep and wide
I can stand right here, see my place from the other side
What you do to me baby, it never gets out of me
I [mean?] I'll see you, if I have t� cross the deep blue sea

Yes, Geechie Wiley is fantastic.

For a better (IMO) transcription of the lyrics, see Masked Marvel's post #4 on this thread!

Here's a very good interpretation of the guitar part for those who are interested, Note that the V chord is a minor chord (Bm7):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2AQl7opT6g

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jostber

#12

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 3408

Nov 1 10 5:27 PM

You also have this comprehensive compilation of WW1 songs:

http://www.archeophone.com/product_info.php?products_id=56

Another recent compilation:

http://www.tompkinssquare.com/archives/65

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LD50

#13

[-]

Posts: 710

Nov 2 10 2:31 AM

QUOTE (Artie the Cat @ October 24, 2010 05:02 pm)

Don't know how accurate these lyrics are, But Blind Willie Johnson's "When the War Was On" is excellent and memorable on the subject of WW I...Don't know who to give credit for transcribing the lyrics, but it seems quite accurate (considering the perpetual rasp in Willie's voice)...

CHORUS: Everybody, well, when the war was on, (3x)
Well, they registered everybody, when the war was on.

Well, it's just about a few years, and some months ago,
United States come and voted for war.

Sammy called the men from the East and the West:
"Get ready boys, we got to do our best."

CHORUS

Well, President Wilson, sittin' on his throne,
Makin' laws for everyone.
Didn't call the black man, to lay by the white,
[guitar replaces words].

CHORUS

Price on the letter, gettin' to raise,
Gettin' no better, but the same old thing.
Eight cents on the dollar, ride the train,
Freight's gettin' cheaper, take a ride again.

CHORUS

Yes, you measure your BARLEY, measure your wheat,
Half a pound of sugar for a person a week. Folks didn't like it,
they blamed Uncle Sam,
Have got to save the sugar for the boys in France.

CHORUS

Well, boys whupped the Germans, home at last,
Would have brought the kaiser, but he run too fast.
Couldn't blame the kaiser for a-leavin' the land,
Uncle Sammy had the greatest share of muscle and man.

CHORUS

Tax gettin' heavy, have to pay,
Help the boys, over across the sea.
Mud and water up to their knees,
Faced the kaiser for you and me.

CHORUS

Also don't forget the other version of this song, William & Versey Smith's totally nutty Everybody Help the Boys Come Home. It actually predates Blind Willie Johnson's version by two years.

Lyrics here: http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/pdf/Archiv...09/msg00001.pdf

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Artie the Cat

#14

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 890

Nov 2 10 3:10 AM

Wow, good research LD! Never heard of that before but kind of assumed that Willie Johnson (who otherwise really only recorded religious material) must have copped it someplace...Nutty is a good word for it too...Almost cartoony!

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ccc

#15

[-]

Deepest Blue

Posts: 36

Nov 17 10 9:30 PM

So we used "Last Kind Word Blues" for a concert at Flanders Fields on Armistice Day Nov 11th.
Guy Forsyth performed it :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMn_lTq-uiA

Thanks all for the help !
I'll use more songs from this thread in the next edition in 2011.

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Songs about WW1 and the aftermath.

Songs about WW1 and the aftermath.