Show ask ana eff lam arm da r low d L 17 76 9 7 by ELMO SCOTT WATSON VER since the world began men have gone to war and IG going having sung eung songs JV 4 among ravages the singing of war songs was an es cs sentral part of the preparation for battle but in so called civilized warfare soldiers Bold lers have light ened camp campaign hardships if or camp life monotony by singing about their otric officers ers their regiments what want they had bad to eat and the shelter or lack of it in which they slept as well as aa any number of other details of their everyday life in this respect the soldiers of the american army ever since there was such an institution have been no different from the soldiers of other na gions what Is a typical american soldier song the answer Is there Is no such thing I 1 the type of song that was popular among our so soldiers idlers of one period the soldiers of another war would scorn to sing with but few exceptions perhaps the songs which were sung during one war are all hut but forgotten by the time another war cornea comes along for the soldier song is one of the most ephemeral things in the world fortunately for our national balladry there has recently been collected in one volume the greater part of our soldier songs irom from yankee doodle to parley which are published under the title of sound off I 1 by the cosmopolitan book corporation of now new york the collector of those these songs is edward arthur dolph of the united states military academy ni at west point and two brother off officers leers on the academy start staff have operated cooperated co with him in producing a piece of work which aside from its inherent interest has great historic value they are philip egner teacher of music who arranged the music tor for many of the songs in the book and lawrence schick instructor in drawing who made the illustrations in the foreword to the book peter B kyne a veteran of the spanish american and world wars makes the following comment A soldier song la Is essentially a song of the people its melody must be simple the words either sad or humorous and it must have a resounding chorus in which the tone deaf can join without fear of discovery it Is for this reason that the most popular song of the world war was all wo we do Is ig sign the pay atoll 1 sung to the tune of john browns body then too it lent itself readily to improvisation I 1 remember a chief cook I 1 had ile he imil hail a bellowing baritone and was one of the funniest men I 1 ever knew one day after having passed through three british rest camps this fellow suddenly roared forth all we do Is go to rest camps A joyous shout greeted this opening line the men knew instantly what was coming and with mighty algor igo r indeed did they come in on the lost last line and wo we never get a d d bit of rest P I 1 his song was a hit I 1 the oldest american wr war ballad according to lieutenant dolph was Lov ewells fight written about 1721 in commemoration of captain love wells victory over the indians at alg backet on may 8 of that year just before the revolution the americans frequently wrote ballads to express their ideas about tea and taxation these ballads however were not nearly so bo popular pular among the soldiers of the continental army as were songs which dealt with events of the war itself such as the famous battle of tho the kegs mad aind anthony wayne brave paulding and the spy nearly all of these Revolution revolutionary ory songs were sung to tunes borrowed from tho the british says the author this was nn natural tural for soldier songs are generally sung to old well known tunes or to popular music of the day it was not until many years after tho the revolution that we began to have a national music of our own it Is interesting to note that tho the one outstanding song of the revolution the one which has survived longest in popular knowledge and which was the basis for other songs during all our wars down to and kneiding apo abing ading the civil war was written originally by a british army surgeon this was the famous yankee doodle here Is the story of its origin as lieutenant dolph tells it in the summer or early fall of 1758 during t the a french and indian war a british army surgeon doctor richard shuckburgh Shuck burgh who had spent most of his time in america was encamped with gen general era abercromble abercrombie on tho the old van reness laer estate near albany A number of provincial troops were mobilizing there their rustle rustic appearance was so ludicrous that doctor shuckburgh Shuck burgh who aiho was quite a wit wrote a song about them and set it to an old tu tue tire e which we now know as yankee doodle to afie men who served in france a decade adelade ngo ago and sang of madelon it may be a surprise to know that I 1 madelon was a soldiers sweetheart long before the world war in proof of that consider this stanza from a soldier song which appeared in one of the earliest american song songster sand and was probably sung in the war of 1812 could you to battle march away and leave me here complaining im sure suret t would break my heart to stay otay when you are gone ca campaigning ah non non gauvre madelon could never leave her loverl ah non non gauvre madelon would go BO with you all the world over although the war of 1812 did not produce many soldier songs mainly because the army have much to boast about until near the end of the wart warl but there Is one exception to this statement and it Is one genuine soldier song bong that will live as long BS as the republic the star spangled banner 11 for this product of the inspiration of a volunteer soldier francis scott key has become our national anthem and had thrilled millions of americans even though not one out of a hundred can sing it all the way through unlike the revolution and the war of 1812 the mexican war produced no great outstanding song which has survived to the present time in the main this conflict saw the revival of the favorite songs of the two previous wars mentioned although the soldiers both volunteer and regular seized upon the alie opportunity offered by various events in n the Alex mexican ican campaigns to compose crude songs which were sung suna to familiar tunes no other war in our count rys history produced as aa many songs as the civil war says lieutenant dolph the ilie struggle lasted so long and tin the feeling eeling on each side was so intense hitense that hundreds of songs of all degrees of merit appeared some of them seemed destined to be sung as long as the american nation lasts for such songs SODs as rattle battle cry of freedom DIR battle hymn of the republic bongle blue flag maryland my maryland have become an essential part of the american tradition not all of these songs were sung bi the soldiers however nor were they intended to be writes the author of sound boffl many were wholly unsuitable for camp or marching son songs or were too far removed from the intimate details and stark realities of a soldiers dilly dally life As a rule sentimental songs were not in great favor As the first aavo of feeling passed and men settled down to the serious bu business sines s of fighting marching slee sleeping p ing in the mud and rain and living on sow belly I 1 and beans their attention was more anti and more focused on the immediate details of their dally daily life it was then that true soldier songs were born for it was at this time that the essential F character of the american soldier began to assert itself his ability to make a jest about danger and hardship and to seek an emotional outlet by singing 11 satirically about himself and his uncomfortable I 1 life al fe that quality became even more apparent in the songs of the span spanish I 1 sh amerlean american war and those of the philippine insurrection and it readied reached its full flower in the world war the fact th that a t blinky dinky parley Is the outstanding survivor of the soldier songs sung over there reflects as nothing else can the spirit of the young man who took part in the great adventure of 1917 18 and lest anyone deplore the fact that the world war songs breathed none of the crusading spirit let him consider these words nords of the author of sound off I 1 perhaps after all it Is a blessing that these soldier songs of 17 and 18 were light nonsensical and even bawdy ablong As long as soldiers slug shig these kinds of songs they do not become cynical and bitter as aa did the french C armans and english the americans came out of the war with tile the ability quickly to regain their normal perspective N no feeling of hate rankles in their breasts today TI tills I 1 Is fact alone Is worth more tha n nail a 11 the war aar so songs that have ever endured |