AMERICAN SOLDIER SONGS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 102, 23 January 1918, Page 7

AMERICAN SOLDIER SONGS

"COMMUNITY "SINGING [By Hamilton Fyffe, the "Daily Mail" Special Correspondent in the Unit- .. ' d States.) ". . >. Naw York,. i Along the dusty road leading from {the rauway station to the camp the recruits who liad just detrained tramp%d with dejected mien and heavy step. §.t was a hot afternoon. Indian sumfiner was at its most exquisite point. gTho fields were blue and gold with wild ■ Rasters and golden rod; The. under.'growth ftemed scarlet; the quivering Reaves of the poplar trees shone brightly golden. But the_ "rookios" cared ■for none of these things. They were jfetiff after a long train journey. The jjsweat dripped from their brows. They jtwere entering, on a new, strange life. .'.Grievance smouldered an their eyes, aurrowed their foreheads, humped their abroad, young shoulders. A mounted fiofficer, meeting them, draws roin, patches them closely. Then with a wniick movement of the head be calls sthe lieutenant in oharge of the draft (io his side. Only three words pass. j'The lieutenant nods and then, resuming his march, blows his whistle. In--1 jfitantly there is a change. Shoulders fare squared, eyes brighten, faces lose ifcheir ashy'look. p "Pack Up Your Troubles," shouts pthe song leader, and the hot air'is vioBeutly rent by a shout • from every ijthrbai. All know this popular favourite: ■ Whafs the use of worrying? It never was worth while. So pack up your troubles, in your old kit-bag And smile, smile, SMILE.

; ''Next, 'Over There,' " is the order ■which follows. Kfohnny, get your gun, get your gun,-get y your gun, OTake it on the run, on the run, on the * run; jiHear them calling you and me, EEvery son of liberty) KHnrry right away, no delay, go to-day, f Make your daddy glad to have had such L a pell your sjssetheart not to pine, po be proud her boy's in the line. \ jpver there, jiOver there; ".••..- IjSend the.word, send-the word over there jsJThat, the Yanks are coining, the Yanks : arecoming-, ' . ■ Phe drums rum-tumming everywhere; ;Bo -prepare, say a prayer, . jßendihe word,'.6end the word to beware; j We'll be over, f We're "coming'over, -.".': Kind we won't come back till -it's over [ over there. , : ' *" ■ £The men are stepping briskly now, all Stheir troubles. gone. "Where Do Wo jGo From Here?" is received with a ffoar. of satisfaction: .

First of all,, at the call, - '•': - When the war began, Pat enlisted in the Army As a fighting man. - . When the drills began they'd,w.alk A hundred miles a day, Tho' the re3t got tired, Paddy "• Always used to. say :'■' Where do we. go from' here, boys? " . Where do we go from here? . .Slip a pill'to Kaiser Bill' ' '. Aandi make Turn shed a tear.' When :we "see the enemy ■"■ I. We'll shoot ;them in the Tear. Oh Joys, oh boys; yhefe do •we go ■ from here? ■ . ■

The value, of song is so far recognised by. the American Army command,<ers .that in all the big camps singing nviTTbe taught by men of note in the Jnusical. profession. There has been a movement this last year or two in Neiv lYork and other cities towards what is called "community singing." All •who care to join are invited to somo | hall or park-where a conductor drills, .them through a number of pieces rang- 1 ing -from "The Swanee River','', to pperatio choruses, from, the National fAnthem to the latest "jazz',' tune. ■• i Community Singing. .■',.', '■ j-. I was. at a public dinner in the city /of Rochester a. few nights ago.' .■r :, *."". r - ilnte'was a son'"--l)opk.- All 'through dinner we sang.' The conductor .'walked about the room encouraging jthe'shy, setting'the example in a. bullbMJaßnan voice, calling now ' for ; "piano," now. for "fortissimo" 'passages, setting one-half of the' room to echo thei other half, and so on.-..-.-. ■ .'-This "community singing" • in ■ its forms pointed the'way towards fcong-teaching to soldiers.. The men iwho directed the one have been asked ito take up the other; A member of the War Department's Commission .on Training- Camps was put -in charge of <jthe matter, and found,-plenty, of competent- helpera. Regimental .singers twill be appointed as they, are in Russia. I have; not yet heard any. American troops singing..with the same magnificent, deep-chested,.rolling.effect that I ■used to .enjoy on'.the Russian front. But.,. I .'.certainly.- felt. a. thrill when I

passed a battalion of National Guard men singing:—

Good-bye, Now York town; good-hyo, Miss Liberty, Your light of freedom will guide us . across, the sea. Franco sent us a soldier, brave Lafayette, Whose deeds and fame we cannot forget. Now that we havo the chance woll pay our debt to France. Chorus. Good-bye, Broadway, hello, France! We're ten million strong. • .Good-bye, sweethearts, wives, and moihors, it won't take us long. Don't you worry while we're there, It's you We're fighting for, So good-bye, Broadwayj hello, France! We're going to help you win this war. It is the jerky rag-time song that the American soldier prefers. There are many sentimental war ballads published, like "Send Me Away With a Smile, Little Girl," which you can imagine, I am sure. It begins: Little girl, don't' ory, I must say good-bye, Don't you hear tho bugle-call? There is rather a good reply to "1 Didn't Raise My Boy to be a Soldier'' in Ifs time for every boy to be a soldier, To put his strength and courage to the test. Ifs time to place a musket on his shoulder, And wrap the Stars and Stripes around his breast. It's time to shout those noble w.ords of Lincoln

And stand up for the land that gave

you birth, That the nation "of the people by tho people for the people" Shall not perish from the earth. The song-teachers are not going, in the words' of one of them with whom I was chatting, "to pull any high-brow stunts." They will teach the men the songs that are popular in tho ranks. But no doubt they will raise the standard a little, unconsciously perhaps. They will, at all events, encourago neither the blatant, flatulent, patriotio ditty nor the greasily' sentimental. They will seek for tho march-sonp which are simplest and which have the best swing. It does not matter what the words are. 'After they have been sung a few times they are not thought of. The one thing necessary is a lilting air which gives the feet a vigorous action and starts a quicker flow of the blood. Here- is a simple song set to a simple tune which has all the elements required: ' Uncle Sammy's nephews Sailed aoross the sea To protect their sweetheart, Fair .Hiss Liberty. ; When we've won the vict'ry, Tar across the foam, We'll be yearning for our returning To home, sweet home.

Chorus. Going back, going back, Going back H, 0, M, E. Going- back, going back, , Prom the lands across the sea, ■ Going back, going back, • When we've made the whoie work free, "Well clear the track till we get back, Going back H, 0, M, E. 'The commandant at one of the hrgert training camps. is a believer in the power of song to bind the men together.- "There is no more potent force'in developing unity in an; army,-' he says. ".',. .