In 1918 the war in Europe was still raging and now American troops were now fighting there. George Cohan's "Over There" had been the last year's most popular song - recorded for example by Enrico Caruso (mp3) and Nora Bayes (mp3) - and was still selling very well. Interestingly five of the six most popular songs in 1918 were not explicitly referring to the war but nonetheless became very popular among the soldiers. But of course there were many others about war-related topics, like "If He Can Fight ike He Can Love, Good Night Germany", "Keep Your Head Down, Fritzie Boy", "My Belgian Rose", "Somewhere In France Is The Lily", "When The Yankee Doodle Learns To Parlez-Vous Francais" or the very sad "Hello Central, Give Me No Man's Land" (Lewis/Young/Schwarz; sheet music). The latter was introduced by Al Jolson in the show Sinbad. He also recorded this song (mp3) as did Henry Burr (mp3 at FirstWorldWar.Com)
When the gray shadows creep
And the world is asleep,
In the still of the night
Baby creeps down a flight.
First she looks all around
Without making a sound;
The baby toddles up to the telephone
And whispers in a baby tone:
"Hello, Central! Give me No Man's Land,
My daddy's there, my mamma told me;
She tip-toed off to bed
After my prayers were said;
Don't ring when you get the number,
Or you'll disturb mamma's slumber.
I'm afraid to stand here at the 'phone
'Cause I'm alone.
So won't you hurry;
I want to know why mamma starts to weep
When I say, 'Now I lay me down to sleep';
Hello, Central! Give me No Man's Land."
Also Irving Berlin was busy writing songs about the war. "The Devil Has Bought Up All The Coal" gave an interesting explanation for the shortage of coal:
[1st REFRAIN:]
The devil has bought up all the coalHe's going to save it I swearUntil the Kaiser gets thereHe needs to make it warm for Mister WilliamThe devil has spent his little roll For all the coal from ev'rywhereHe's piling it up by the tonAnd, oh, what he'll do to that HunThere'll be a hot time in Hades
When the Kaiser gets there
"They Are All Out Of Step But Jim" (1918) was a spoof on parents boasting about the soldier son, recorded f. ex. by Van & Schenck (mp3)
In May he was drafted into the army but he was quickly back to songwriting and created "Yip Yip Yaphank", a rousing soldiers' show. "How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning" became the most popular song from this show. Arthur Field's recording (mp3) was very successful and Eddie Cantor sang it too (see his version at FirstWorldWar.Com)
Jimmy's mother went to see her son
Marching along on parade
In his uniform and with his gun
What a lovely picture he made
She came home that ev'ning
Filled up with delight
And to all the neighbors
She would yell with all her might
In May he was drafted into the army but he was quickly back to songwriting and created "Yip Yip Yaphank", a rousing soldiers' show. "How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning" became the most popular song from this show. Arthur Field's recording (mp3) was very successful and Eddie Cantor sang it too (see his version at FirstWorldWar.Com)
[Chorus]:
"Oh! how I hate to get up in the morning,
Oh! how I'd love to remain in bed;
For the hardest blow of all, is to hear the bugler call;
You've got to get up, you've got to get up
You've got to get up this morning!
Some day I'm going to murder the bugler,
Some day they're going to find him dead;
I'll amputate his reveille, and step upon it heavily,
And spend the rest of my life in bed."
Also the era of Blues and Jazz was coming closer and some hits of that year gave a foretaste of the new style: "After You've Gone" and "Everybody Gone Crazy", both by Creamer & Layton, "Darktown Strutters Ball" (Shelton Brooks) and W. C. Handy's "Beale Streat Blues". Even the Original Dixieland Jazz Band's "Tiger Rag" sold well.
1. Smiles (Callahan/Roberts) [sheet music]
YouTube: Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra, vocal chorus Harry MacDonough
mp3: Jaudas Society Orchestra
mp3: Albert Campbell & Henry Burr
[Refrain:]
There are smiles that make us happy,
There are smiles that make us blue,
There are smiles that steal away the tear-drops,
As the sunbeams steal away the dew,
There are smiles that have a tender meaning
That the eyes of love alone may see,
And the smiles that fill my life with sunshine
Are the smiles that you give to me.
According to Thomas Hischak (p. 327) the "songwriters couldn't get any publishing house interested in the number, so they published it themselves, and it sold over 2 milion copies of sheet music within six months". For more about this song see Malcolm Lowry @ The 19th Hole.
2. K-K-K-Katy (Geoffrey O'Hara) [sheet music]
YouTube: Billy Murray
This was - according to the sheet music - "The Sensational Stammering Song Success Sung by the Soldiers and Sailors". Geoffrey O'Hara was from Canada and more about him and his song can be found on the website of Library and Archives Canada.
Another great classic that was later recorded countless times (see Wikipedia). The melody was adapted from Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu (1834).
At the end of the rainbow there's happiness
and to find it how often I've tried
But my life is a race, just a wild goose chase
And my dreams have all been denied!
Why have I always been a failure?
What can the reason be?
I wonder if the world's to blame?
I wonder if it could be me?
I'm always chasing rainbows
watching clouds drifting by!
My schemes are just like all of my dreams
ending in the sky!
Some fellows look and find the sunshine
I always look and find the rain!
Some fellows make a winning sometime
I never even make a gain!
4. I'm Sorry I Made You Cry (Clesi) [Sheet music]
[...]
Just a baby's prayer at twilight
When lights are low
Poor baby's years
are filled with tears
There's a mother there at twilight
Who's proud to know
Her precious little tot
Is Dad's forget-me-not
After saying "Goodnight, Mama"
She climbs up stairs
Quite unawares
And says her prayers
"Oh! kindly tell my daddy
That he must take care"
That's a baby's prayer at twilight
For her daddy, "over there"
[...]
6. Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody (Lewis/Young/Schwarz) [sheet music]
mp3: Vernon Dalhart
This song - another classic of the "Mammy"-genre so popular back then - was also introduced by Al Jolson in the show Sinbad who kept it in his epoertoire for the rest of his career. In 1961 it was even recorded by Aretha Franklin.
[Refrain:]Rock-a-bye your baby to a Dixie melody,
When you croon, croon a little tune from the heart of Dixie
Just place that cradle, mammy mine,
On that Mason-Dixon Line
And swing it from Virginia to Tennessee
With all the love that's in ya.
"Weep No More, My Lady" - sing that song again, for me,
Sing "Old Black Joe" just as though you had me on your knee.
A million baby kisses, I'll deliver
If you will only sing that "Swanee River",
Rock-a-bye your rock-a-bye baby to a Dixie melody
mp3: Marion Harris
YouTube: Sophie Tucker with Miff Mole & His Molers (recorded in 1927)
- Beale Street Blues (W. C. Handy) [sheet music]
YouTube: Earl Fuller's Famous Jazz Band (recorded in 1917)
YouTube: Marion Harris (recorded in 1921)
- Everybody (Gone) Crazy 'Bout The Doggone Blues (Craemer/Layton) [sheet music]
- Tiger Rag (LaRocca et al.)
mp3: Original Dixieland Jazz Band
Literature & Sources
- Based again on the data found in: Edward Foote Gardner, Popular Songs Of The Twentieth Century. Vol. 1: Chart Detail & Encyclopedia 1900 - 1949, St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2000
- All mp3s c/o The Internet Archive - 78 RPM & Cylinder Collection (and please note that their server sometimes seems to be a little slow) Many thanks to all the uploaders both at the Internet Archive & YouTube
- Images of sheet music cover from Kirk Collection (Indiana State University), a great resource for old sheet music
- Thomas S. Hischak, The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia, Westport, CT & London 2002
- Please check out FirstWorldWar.Com with a great collection of recordings from that era.
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