The war years 1914 to 1918 were dismal ones indeed for the free world, and during that period, America was unequivocally music conscious. According to World War I Songs by Frederick G. Vogel, about 40% of registered songs in America referred exclusively to the war. In the more than two years the European War raged prior to America’s declaration of war in April of 1917, the songwriters’ lyrics debated American involvement. “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be A Soldier” countered by “It’s Time for Every Boy to Be A Soldier,” are just two of them.
Many other pre-American participation songs were written for the English like “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kitbag” and “Smile, Smile, Smile”; and for the French such as “Rose of Pickardy.” These and many more like them, including “Keep the Home Fires Burning” and “When You’re A Long, Long Way From Home” became enormously popular in America. The songwriters’ body of work encapsulated the patriotic fervor of the nation at that time, providing a window into what America was like at the beginning of the 20thcentury. Barbers hummed them, desk workers drummed them, construction workers whistled them, Irish cops on the beat sang them, barbershop quartets harmonized them, the untalented shouted them, piano players pounded them, orchestras blared them, snare drummers drummed them, banjos picked them, and everyone else danced to them. From the sound of it, the songwriters, and much of the public — who cleared the sheet music shelves as fast as the publishing houses stocked them — couldn’t wait to get the war started.
Once U.S. troops joined the fight, the lyrics by civilian songwriters focused on dispensing comfort and cheer, bolstering morale under shot and shell, providing melodious diversion in a hostile setting, composing chest-thumping promises of victory, fostering confidence in the ranks, conjuring up lovers’ and mothers’ farewells, as well as imagining feats of derring-do and valor.
The soldiers themselves, continuing an age-old tradition, relieved the monotony of the everyday routine by making light of enduring hardships; and faced their fears of death and disfigurement by singing about their units, their officers, their food, the enemy, memories of home, and the Mademoiselles. They sang to remember and they sang to forget. They sang the songs as they were meant to be sung, but more often than not, they made a parody of the lyrics to fit the circumstances.
As did F. Scott Fitzgerald, I have attempted to use both lyrics and song titles as musical counterparts — to comment on the texture and essence of the story’s characters, to provide background to the action and environment, to link the dialogue with the setting and mood, and to blend music and theme.
Here are some of the lyrics employed in TROTC: Volume I: Ivy & The Crossing: