MUSIC
Patriotic Music
Music became one of the most influential forms of propaganda, inspiring citizens and their families to join the war effort and support the cause. In the early 20th century, music was disseminated through music halls and theatres which presented popular tunes to the general public. Working class citizens would visit music halls as they would movie theatres today, and sheet music from the show would be sold so families could share the tunes at home. Gramophones were relatively new and expensive, but mass produced for soldiers during the war, making their sale affordable for citizens after the war. This lead to a large boom in the music industry in the post-war era. Patriotic tunes romanticized the war overseas and, as news from the front was rarely reported in America, the songs created a more positive view of the heroic deeds of soldiers fighting for freedom.
"Wee, Wee, Marie" tells the tale of an American soldier in France who falls for a young French woman, but does not know the language enough to communicate with her. Many soldiers, even after spending a year in France, failed to pick up the French language. French speaking Americans gave classes to improve communications. Nevertheless, the song is a humorous tale which demonstrates the romanticizing of WWI in American music.
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"Why can't we parleyvous like other sweethearts do,
I want a kiss or two from Ma Cherie,
Wee Wee Marie, if you'll do zis for me
Then I'll do zat for you,
Wee Wee Marie, Wee Wee Marie."
"The Dixie Volunteers" expresses the pride of Southern soldiers going to war. Southern soldiers had great pride in their heritage and fighting prowess. Veterans of the German Wars of Unification bore the scars of battle and were idolized by their children and grandchildren. In the early 20th century, the younger generation of German men practiced fencing using the mensur technique; a dueling style that was believed to develop courage and a calmness in the face of danger. The mensur practice was intended to produce the scars their grandfathers bore as a sign of their courage. In the American South, a similar mentality existed. Sons and grandsons of Confederate soldiers had no great war of which to boast. World War I provided an outlet for their Southern pride.
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"Peaceful sons have shouldered guns,
And now they're going to be,
Fighting men like Stonewall Jackson
and like Robert E. Lee;
When they hit that line;
And they cross the River Rhine;
You'll wish you came from Dixie,
With the Dixie Volunteers."
"I’m Proud to be the Mother of a Boy Like You" tells the tale of two mothers shipping their sons off to war. The first cries tears of joy as she is so proud that her son is going to serve his country as his father before him. The second, while resistant to let her boy go, eventually reveals that she, too, is proud of him. The song does reveal the two sides of losing a son, but presents the patriotic pride that all mothers should bear for their soldier sons.
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"I am proud to have a boy like you,
I am proud my boy because you're true
to the flag your Father fought for
Bravely fought and died for too
March away and keep that flag up there
Proudly floating in the air
With your gun up on your shoulder
And your uniform of blue,
I'm proud to be the Mother of a boy like you."
Suppressed Music
Folk music, sung at family gatherings, kept alive the memories of immigrants’ heritage. However, once war was declared, these expressions of ancestral culture were suppressed and lost. American folk music developed from the blending of old tunes and instruments from across the sea with patriotic lyrics to mask the songs’ origins. Classical Germanic musicians, such as Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart, were removed from the record stores to suppress the works of German artists. Anti-war songs were forbidden from music halls for fear of losing their licenses, and though songs were produced, they were often ridiculed and suppressed to the point of nonexistence. Many anti-war songs re-emerged in the post-war era, fueling the Jazz Age and protest songs of the American folk revival later in the century.
"After the War is Over Will There Be Any 'Home Sweet Home'" is a bleaker tune which represented the fears of the coming post war era. Though the song still honors the heroic work the soldiers did, it recognizes the reality that many children will be without fathers and mothers without sons. The song reminds that family is important, even when someone is lost.
"After the war is over and the world's at peace,
Many a heart will be aching after the war has ceased.
Many a home will be vacant, Many a child be alone,
But I hope they'll all be happy In a place called 'Home sweet Home.'"
It also presents a vision of the future of imperialism which led to the war and the uncertain future that was to come.
"Changed will be the picture of the foreign lands,
Maps will change entirely to diff'rent hands.
Kings and Queens may ever rule their fellow man,
But pray they'll be united like our own free land."
The Irish ballad, "The Foggy Dew," was written after the war, but its anti-war and anti-imperial message rang mournfully and clear throughout the following century. As with many imperial states, Ireland wanted its independence from Britain. Irish-Americans were adamant supporters of the anti-war effort, as they did not want the United States to aid England. The song tells the story of a group of Irish nationalists who took advantage of England’s weakened state in the spring of 1916, rebelling in an event known as the Easter Rising. The song expresses how the Irish nationalists felt, refusing to die for England’s cause. Though the rebellion was quickly put down by British forces, it only mobilized the rebellious force to increased action against the weakened empire in a post-imperial world.
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"Right proudly high over Dublin Town they hung out the flag of war
'Twas better to die 'neath an Irish sky than at Suvla or Sud-El-Bar
And from the plains of Royal Meath strong men came hurrying through
While Britannia's Huns, with their long range guns sailed in through the foggy dew"
One of the earliest anti-war songs, "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" tells the other side of sending your son off to war. Though a popular sentiment which was felt across the anti-war movement, the song was heavily ridiculed to the point of nonexistence. Former President Theodore Roosevelt remarked that someone who didn’t raise their son to be a soldier might as well not raise their daughter to be a mother, and several parodies of the tune were developed in response. Nevertheless, the song was popular among pacifists and suffragettes, as well as anti-war immigra-nts such as Irish and German-Americans and Church officials.
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"I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier,
I brought him up to be my pride and joy.
Who dares to place a musket on his shoulder,
To shoot some other mother's darling boy?
Let nations arbitrate their future troubles,
It's time to lay the sword and gun away.
There'd be no war today,
If mothers all would say,
'I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier.'"
Karl Muck was born in Germany in 1859. He and his family moved to Switzerland and he received citizenship at the age of 21. Renowned as a conductor, Muck became the music director for the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1906. He was close friends with Kaiser Wilhelm, but chose to bring German musical stylings to America instead. When the United States declared war on Germany, Muck offered to resign his post, but was persuaded to remain. As the wave of patriotism swept through the music halls, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played at the beginning of every show. The public demanded the pro-German Muck perform the anthem, but he failed to do so, prompting a wave of backlash which resulted in his arrest and internment. Though he was not a German citizen, a loophole in the Espionage and Sedition Acts allowed for the arrest of anyone born in Germany prior to the foundation of the Empire in 1871. While in camp, he performed Beethoven's "Eroita" for the 2000 German prisoners. He was deported in August of 1919 and lived out the rest of his days in Germany. He stepped away from conducting, viewing himself as an artist of the past in the post-war era and the rising Nazi control over the arts made him uncomfortable, though he received a Plaque of the German Eagle from Hitler on his 80th birthday. He passed away March 3, 1940.
By the time the United States joined WWI, German culture was already ingrained in American culture. Many Christmas traditions originated in Germany and become such an American tradition that it was impossible to suppress during the war. "O Tannenbaum" was written in the early 19th century and was a beloved German folksong before it was associated with the holiday. The song related the strength and endurance of a fir tree with that of the Christian faith and soon the tradition of placing a tree in one’s home for Christmas carried the song into the realm of caroling. While most know of the song and its origins, few Americans sang "O Christmas Tree" in its original German after WWI.
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"O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,
Nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Wie treu sind deine Blätter!"