Music Associated with Wartime Trivia

1. This song is unusual for a Civil War tune, in that it was written by a woman. Based on an earlier work called "John Brown's Body," for what stirring song is Julia Ward Howe best remembered?

From Quiz Songs of the American Civil War

Answer: The Battle Hymn of the Republic

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord / He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored." After John Brown led an abortive raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859, he became a hero to many northern abolitionists. Brown was hanged on December 2, 1859, and a song about him, "John Brown's Body," became popular during the early days of the Civil War. Julia Ward Howe heard soldiers singing this song during a visit to Washington, D.C., and rewrote the lyrics (she also slightly changed the melody). "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was published in "The Atlantic Monthly" in February, 1862 and immediately became one of the most popular Union songs of the war. It remains popular today.

From Quiz World War One Songbook

Answer: Ireland

"It's a Long Way to Tipperary" was written by Jack Judge and Harry Williams on a bet, although Williams's claim is tenuous. It was frequently used as a marching song but it had broad popular appeal. Although not a 'war' song per se, it spoke of a displaced person yearning for home. Tipperary is a small town in central Ireland that had a population of 4415 in 2006. The welcome sign entering Tipperary says: "You Come a Long Way". Although Harry Williams' authorship of the song has been disputed, none-the-less he collected royalties until his death 1924. From that point his heirs have inherited the copyright. Harry was confined to a wheelchair most of his life. "It's a long way to Tipperary, And it's a long way to go. It's a long way to Tipperary And the sweetest girl I know! Goodbye, Piccadilly, Farewell, Leicester Square! It's a long long way to Tipperary, But my heart's right there."

From Quiz Praise the Words and Pass the Ammunition

Answer: Bluebirds

The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs that form part of the British coastline facing France. The cliff face reaches up to 351 feet. They are composed of chalk or calcium carbonate. The relentless bombing of England by the Germans and the aerial dog fights over the cliffs led to the composition of the song in 1941 by Walter Kent and Nat Burton. Vera Lynn's 1942 recording makes it a classic from that era. "There'll be bluebirds over The white cliffs of Dover Tomorrow Just you wait and see" There'll be love and laughter And peace ever after Tomorrow When the world is free".

From Quiz Hit Songs of World War II

Answer: Jimmy

"And Jimmy will go to sleep in his own little room again." It's a very touching tune. Words were written by Nat Burton and the music by Walter Kent. There is an actual place called the White Cliffs of Dover located on the Kentish coast of England overlooking the English Channel.

From Quiz Songs of the American Civil War

Answer: Daniel Decatur Emmett

"Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton / Old times there are not forgotten / Look way, look away, look away, Dixie Land!" Although others have claimed authorship, it is generally agreed that the famous song, "Dixie," was written by Daniel Decatur Emmett around 1859. He sold the rights to the song for a mere $300 in 1861. Emmett was a well-known writer of songs for minstrel shows, a popular form of entertainment during his day. Both sides in the Civil war wrote new lyrics to the song to reflect their patriotic leanings; perhaps the most famous of these changed the words "look away" to "To arms! To arms! To arms in Dixie!" It is said that upon learning of Robert E. Lee's surrender, Abraham Lincoln asked the White House band to play "Dixie."

From Quiz Praise the Words and Pass the Ammunition

Answer: We'll Meet Again

The war had just begun and young men were leaving their lovers and not knowing if they will ever see them again. Ross Parker and Hughie Charles composed it in 1939 and Vera Lynn had the classic recording that Kubrick used in "Dr. Strangelove" to express the irony of a world gone mad with atomic destruction. The song inspired a film of the same name starring Vera Lynn in 1943. Such artists as The Byrds, The Turtles, Johnny Cash, and The Ink Spots reprised the song. "We'll meet again, Don't know where, don't know when, But I know we'll meet again, some sunny day"

From Quiz The White Cliffs of Dover

Answer: Kent

The White Cliffs are composed almost entirely of chalk, and on a clear day, they can be seen from the northern coastline of France. Dover is also a very busy modern day cross-channel ferry port.

From Quiz Hit Songs of World War II

Answer: White Christmas

"White Christmas" was written for the 1942 movie "Holiday Inn" starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. It won an Academy Award for the 1942 best song.

From Quiz Songs of the Great War

Answer: Mademoiselle from Armentieres

No one knows who wrote this song, although it has been suggested that is originally a British Army of India song called 'Skiboo'. Armentieres was a British R and R base during the war, from whence the most popular version of the song presumably sprung. The three Germans in the less discreet version were off to do some things that can't be mentioned on a family site like this one. 'Hinky dinky parley voo!'

From Quiz Songs of the American Civil War

Answer: Marching Through Georgia

"Hurrah! Hurrah! We bring the Jubilee / Hurrah! Hurrah! The flag that sets you free / So we sang the chorus from Atlanta to the sea / While we were marching through Georgia." "Marching Through Georgia" became one of the most popular songs in the North towards the end of the Civil War. The song is still unpopular in the South, particularly in Georgia. President Jimmy Carter earned several demerits at the U.S. Naval Academy by refusing to sing the song, even though ordered to do so by upperclassmen. Work also wrote "My Grandfather's Clock," and "The Ship That Never Returned." The latter was recycled as "Charlie on the MTA" by the Kingston Trio.

From Quiz Praise the Words and Pass the Ammunition

Answer: Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition

The legend was that a chaplain was assisting in battle. There were a number of claims as to the origin of the phrase "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition", Chaplain Howell Forgy appeared on the game show "I've Got a Secret" in 1955 and he recalled in his own words: "I was stationed aboard the USS New Orleans, and we were tied up at 1010 dock in Pearl Harbor when we attacked again. We were having a turbine lifted, and all of our electrical power wasn't on, and so when we went to lift the ammunition by the hoist, we had to form lines of men - form a bucket brigade - and we began to carry the ammunition up through the quarterdeck into the gurneys, and I stood there and directed some of the boys down the port side and some down the starboard side, and as they were getting a little tired, I just happened to say, 'Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition'. That's all there was to it." Frank Loesser was one of the leading song writers of his day, often associated with the 'Tin Pan Alley' cadre of musicians and lyricists. His mega-hits on Broadway were "Guys and Dolls" and "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying".

From Quiz Hit Songs of World War II

Answer: Lili Marlene

It was made popular by German songstress Marlene Deitrich, and some will argue that it is THE most popular war song of all time.

From Quiz This is the Army, Mr. Jones

Answer: Gene Autry

"At Mail Call Today" was a song about the infamous 'Dear John' letters, received by many heart-broken soldiers while serving in the war. It tells the sad story of a young soldier and his reaction to receiving one of these dreaded letters telling him that his fiancée/girlfriend/wife has left him.

From Quiz Songs of the American Civil War

Answer: Maryland, My Maryland

"The despot's heel is on thy shore, Maryland! My Maryland! / His torch is at thy temple door, Maryland, My Maryland!" Maryland would almost certainly have seceded from the Union if Abraham Lincoln had not ordered Federal troops to occupy the state. On April 16, 1861 members of the 6th Massachusetts Volunteers fired upon a crowd of people protesting their occupation of the state. Twelve innocent civilians were killed. James Ryder Randall, a native Marylander living in Louisiana when the massacre took place, wrote a poem about the incident. It was set to the tune of "O Tannenbaum," a German Christmas carol, by the Cary sisters of Baltimore. In addition to "despot," the song refers to Abraham Lincoln as a "tyrant" and "Vandal," and calls the occupying troops "Northern scum." "Maryland, My Maryland" was adopted by Maryland as its state song on April 29, 1939. When the song is sung annually at the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, the second (and noncontroversial verse) is usually chosen.

From Quiz World War One Songbook

Answer: Paris (or Paree)

Joe Young and Sam M. Lewis wrote this song purely from a comic point of view. In the early part of the century nearly half of Americans lived in rural settings. However, this was changing. Economic factors, mechanization, and less reliance on subsistence agriculture found the rural populations declining. The song reflects the underlying fear that agriculture was less a factor in the 'American' dream. "They'll never want to see a rake or a plow And who the deuce can parlez vous a cow? And how ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm After they've seen Paree?"

From Quiz Praise the Words and Pass the Ammunition

Answer: Der Fuehrer's Face

Spike Jones, a noted musical satirist of the era, made the first recording of "Der Fuehrer's Face" in 1942. Spike used rude noises for punctuation. Disney dispensed with those and instead used only the tuba for emphasis. The cartoon had Donald Duck in a nightmare forced to work in a Nazi war plant. The song had a life of its own although its purpose was to sell war bonds and propaganda. Disney buried the film after the war and it was not released again until 2004. "When der fuehrer says we is de master race We heil(rude noise) heil(rude noise) Right in der fueher's face! (rude noise) Not to love der fuehrer is a great disgrace, So we heil(rude noise) heil(rude noise) Right in der fuehrer's face! (rude noise)"

From Quiz The White Cliffs of Dover

Answer: Tomorrow

They will - "just you wait and see"! (from the third line of the song)

From Quiz Hit Songs of World War II

Answer: I'll Never Smile Again

Ruth Lowe wrote this song in her heartbreak after losing her husband suddenly after only one year of marriage. She is said to have told her sister, "I'll never smile again without him." Then she sat down and wrote this beautiful song.

From Quiz Songs of the Great War

Answer: Till We Meet Again

Music by Richard Whiting, lyrics by Raymond B. Egan. 1916.

From Quiz World War One Songbook

Answer: France

Fred Weatherly wrote the lyrics to this song for his favorite vocalist Elsie Griffin, for whom he had written another song, "Danny Boy"(1910). Picardy was a province of France between Noyon and Calais that contained the Somme battlefields, scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of World War One, hence a reminder of renewal after conflict. "Roses are shining in Picardy, in the hush of the silver dew, Roses are flowering in Picardy, but there's never a rose like you! And the roses will die with the summertime, and our roads may be far apart But there's one rose that dies not in Picardy! 'tis the rose that I keep in my heart!"

From Quiz The White Cliffs of Dover

Answer: Angry skies

This line is a reference to the Royal Air Force fighter pilots during the Battle of Britain, which took place in the skies over Britain during the summer and autumn of 1940. Many Royal Air Force fighter squadrons were on "ready alert" to fend off German bomber attacks, particularly in the South of England, and were able to be airborne in under two minutes when a raid was imminent.

From Quiz Songs of the Great War

Answer: A match for your cigarette

'Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile. While you've a lucifer to light your fag, smile boys that's the style! What's the use of worrying? It never was worthwhile, so, pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile.' Fred Powell wrote the music, the lyrics were by Fred Asaf.

From Quiz Songs of the American Civil War

Answer: The Bonnie Blue Flag

"We are a band of brothers, native to the soil / We fight for our liberty with treasure, blood and toil / And when our rights were threatened, the cry rose near and far / Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star!" The lyrics to this lively song were written by Harry McCarthy in early 1861, and were set to the tune of "The Irish Jaunting Car." The "Bonnie Blue Flag" refers to an early Confederate flag that consisted of a single white star on a blue background. The flag soon fell out of use, but the song endured throughout the war. The second line was originally, "Fighting for the property we gained by honest toil." Like nearly all Civil War era songs, there some variations in the lyrics. In both the novel and the movie of "Gone With the Wind," Rhett and Scarlett name their daughter Bonnie Blue.

From Quiz The White Cliffs of Dover

Answer: Bombs up

I've absolutely no idea what this two word phrase refers to, but an educated guess suggests that this was a tribute to the Royal Air Force bomber crews as opposed to the solo fighter pilots. Vera was always keen to include everyone in her patriotic songs to reflect the value of the work they did.

From Quiz Songs of the American Civil War

Answer: Aura Lea

"Aura Lea, Aura Lea, Maid with golden hair; / Sunshine came along with thee, And swallows in the air." "Aura Lea" (sometimes spelled "Aura Lee") was written by W. W. Fosdick and George R. Poulton just before the Civil War began. It was a popular tune with both Union and Confederate troops. Some 95 years later, composer Ken Darby rewrote the lyrics for the Elvis Presley movie, "Love Me Tender." Elvis first performed the new version of the song on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on September 9, 1956.

From Quiz World War One Songbook

Answer: K...K...Katy

Although this ditty has been recorded many times, probably nothing tops Jack Oakie's rendition in the film "Tin Pan Alley"(1940). Oakie plays a frustrated song writer who can't find the right lyrics for a melody. As he is boarding a troop ship headed to France, he falls in the water. After he is fished out shivering, he solves the problem with K...K...Katy. "K-K-K-Katy, beautiful Katy You're the only g-g-g-girl that I adore; When the m-m-m-moon shines, Over the cowshed, I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door."

From Quiz The White Cliffs of Dover

Answer: Shepherd - tend his sheep

Much of the farming work was done by women during the war, releasing men for service in the armed forces. The women were known as "Land Army" girls, and they did a fantastic job. The film "Land Girls" (released in 1998) which was set in the English county of Dorset during 1941, reflects the nature of the work these women did, and the personal sacrifices they made in order to do so.

From Quiz Songs of the Great War

Answer: John McCormack

'Roses are shining in Picardy in the hush of the silvery dew, Roses are flowering in Picardy, but there's never a rose like you.' Haydn Wood (music) and Fred Weatherby (lyrics), 1916. John McCormack (1884-1945) is certainly one of the great voices of the 20th century and one of the first megastars of recorded sound. A highly-regarded bel canto tenor, he gradually shifted his career to focus on recording and the concert stage because he made more money and it got him away from the constant flak he received for his lack of acting talent. When America entered the war he toured extensively for the Red Cross.

From Quiz World War One Songbook

Answer: Keep them burning

The song became an anthem for the loved ones at home. It meant more than just fire; it meant preservation of the life the soldiers had left. "Keep the home fires burning, While your hearts are yearning. Though your lads are far away They dream of home. There's a silver lining Through the dark clouds shining, Turn the dark cloud inside out Till the boys come home."

From Quiz The White Cliffs of Dover

Answer: The valley

The English countryside in spring has to be seen to be believed, with many different varieties of wild flowers in all their splendour. Given that a lot of previously undisturbed countryside was used for agricultural purposes during the war years, any "patch" of wild flowers were much appreciated and valued.

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