Friday, November 4, 2011
WWI: Songs & Sheet Music
Two famous WWI American songs include "Over There" and "Keep the Home Fires Burning". Examine sheet music and lyrics to these songs by searching online. What images appear on the covers of the sheet music? What is the goal of the lyrics? Do we still create colorful sheet music covers today? Are songs written about war today?
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I found the songs "Over There" and "Keep the Home Fires Burning" to be very inspirational and patriotic. On the sheet music of "Over There", there is a U.S.S. Michigan Navy member (I believe his name is Wm.J.Reilly because that name is on the sheet music, but it might not be his name). The navy member is smiling and has a happy look on his face. The writing on the sheet is in red, white, and blue, which are the colors of our country. The goal of the lyrics in the song is to get young men to go and join the army. On the sheet music of "Keep the Home Fires Burning", there is a soldier in camoflauge laying down and he is holding a gun. The sky in the backround is yellow with a big black cloud. The goal of the lyrics is to tell the people back home to keep their homes welcome to soldiers when the war is over. The people in America need to keep America welcoming for the soldiers and keep it a cheery place!
ReplyDeleteToday, we don't really have, persay, "sheet music" but we have CD covers and album covers. The covers are often very colorful and inspiring. There are also still some songs written about war today. Most of those songs tend to be country songs, at least from what I have heard on the radio. Some examples of these songs are: "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue", "Arlington", "Where Were You", and "Only in America". You can hear these songs on any country station and the lyrics go straight to your heart. Songs written about war inspire America and send an important message.
As I was listening to the songs "Over There" and "Keep the Home Fires Burning," I noticed their different moods, before and during WW1. The lyrics and tune to "Over There" make joining the war seem like an exiting opportunity to do something great for your country. The song does not include the horrible conditions men go through during the war, such s trench foot or poisonous gases, but tries to persuade young men to join with a happy patriotic mood, which many do. The sheet music cover for "Over There" includes a smiling young member of the U.S.S. Michigan Navy, supported by red, white, and blue for patriotism. However, I couldn't help but notice his eyes weren't smiling along with the rest of his face, which is supposed to show when you're really smiling. His smile looked force and his eyes weary, making it seem as if joining isn't the dream young men are told it would be. Which brings me to "Keep the Home Fires Burning," which is supposed to be an encouraging song for the homesick soldiers so that they may be strong to see the day they return home, even if many didn't. Even though this song was supposed to be encouraging, it made me really sad. I started thinking of the millions of soldiers in strange lands and horrible conditions, thinking of their loved ones at home who miss them dearly as well, knowing that even if they make it home, they will me damaged from the war. The sheet music cover for "Keep the Home Fires Burning" shows a young camouflaged and in possession of a gun and surrounded by a dark environment. The look in his eyes make it seem as if he's thinking of where he wishes he could be at the moment, most likely with his family. These songs'purpose might have been to cheer people and soldiers up, but there was more to them than that.
ReplyDeleteAs Holly said, with today's technology sheet music has been replaced by CD and album covers. Covers can be fun and emotional. I personally haven't heard to many war songs on the media, but when I do they touch me. Some of my favorites include Metallica-The Day That Never Comes,Chely Wright- The Bumper of My S.U.V., and Trace Adkins- Arlington. The songs about war today might not be as cheerful as they were, but their emotion and lyrics hit you hard.
“Over There” and “Keep the Home Fires Burning” are songs with different purposes. “Keep the Home Fires Burning” is a British patriotic song with its focus to support the brave soldiers of World War 1. The song says to me that we are staying strong at home and encouraging the soldiers to remember home “it will always be there, waiting for them to return.” The cover for “Keep the Home Fires Burning” was very simple with just text and no picture; but on the other hand, the sheet music for “Over There” had a cover that displayed four soldiers: one playing the banjo, all of them singing and in high spirits around what appears to be a campfire with tents in the background. The mood of “Over There” is opposite of the mood of “Keep the Home Fires Burning.” While “Keep the Home Fires Burning” seems subdued, “Over There” is a rallying cry that the United States is coming to help the war effort in Europe. George M. Cohan, composer of “Over There,” wrote many uplifting, patriotic songs, as I learned from last years' high school musical, The Melody Lingers On. I also know that colorful sheet music covers are still created today as there are stacks of sheet music in my house. Most of the current covers have a picture of the recording artist who made the song popular. In researching “contemporary war songs,” I noticed several entries: “When We Stand Together,” by Nickelback (2011), “Bleed Red,” by Ronnie Dunn (2011), and “Harmony,” by Never Shout Never (2010). It doesn't matter when the song was written, 1918 or 2011, music about war is meant to send a message.
ReplyDeleteWe all definitely could agree that both “Keep The Home Fires Burning” and “Over There” are emotional hard-hitting songs. They explain a lot of what was going on in our country and out of the country during WWI. In “Over There” the cover page of the sheet music is a picture of a Navy Seal smiling and seeming relatively happy. He is a member of the U.S.S Michigan and if I am right his name is WM. J. Reilly. (As it says on the cover page) Also, the cover page has all very patriotic colors on the page. I think that is very symbolic because without these colors we would be a little confused on the meaning of the song. The song “Over There” is trying to recruit young men to join the Army and defend our nation. I think one line that would really push young men to enlist is, “Make your Daddy glad to have had such a lad”. Young men I feel were really pushed to impress their family and enlisting in the Army would definitely do that. It also made them a role model to younger children. I feel the lyrics explain exactly that. The cover page of “Keep the Home Fires Burning” is a young soldier painted in camouflage and looks like he is battle shooting at the enemies. He has a very serious and focused look on his face. In the background is a yellow-blackish sky with a lot of smoke. I think the song is say that the men fighting miss their homes and when they come back, if they ever do, welcome them with open arms and an open heart. If a soldier doesn’t have a home welcome them to yours ,so they know that their duties are appreciated. The covers and lyrics of these two songs definitely hit your emotions and trigger your heart ,not your head!
ReplyDeleteToday, we may not have cover pages or sheet music, but we do have CDs and CD covers. My Dad and I have discussed and argued about how today’s lyrics are less meaningful and are more about status. My Dad always says, “Why can’t new musicians put thought and meaning in their songs, not just say swear words and sing about partying and drugs?”. Today rappers say words that half of us can’t comprehend and singers just sing meaningless songs that don’t inspire ,but shows the younger generation that drinking, doing drugs, partying and skipping school is fine. Now, I understand that there are musicians who don’t do that, but a majority of musicians don’t put meaning or thought in their lyrics. Cover pages or CD covers, from what I have seen, are almost completely different from the music they have on the CD. They are usually just an attracting looking picture of the artist (or sometimes what they call “Attractive” we usually call it X-rated or gross.) . Some are definitely inspirational, but most are not. Our covers are definitely colorful in many ways these days.
I have heard many songs about war these days. Many artists like Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne, Trace Adkins, Ronnie Dunn, Never Shout Never and Joe Pug. There are still many songs about war today some are: “The War” by Lucero, “Bury Me Far From My Uniform” by Joe Pug, “Dresses Blue” by Jason Isabell and “War on War” by Wilco just to name a few. There are plenty more and I could go on and on. War songs definitely send a profound message to all and I hope everyone receives the message and follows it by welcoming and appreciating our troops because they do some amazing things for us!
Sheet music isn't always the first thing we think about when it comes to WWI. Music in general, in fact, isn't always thought of as important during a war. I believe, however, that music is just as important to think about during war times. Music can tell a story and each person interprets lyrics differently. Music also gives you feeling; it expresses emotion. During WWI, many songs were popular, but why was music so important during the war?
ReplyDeleteThe song "Over There" came out during WWI. On the front cover of the sheet music is a picture of a handsome, young naval officer. He has a big smile on his face and has U.S.S. Michigan on his hat. The whole cover has a red, white, and blue theme to it. The naval officer's name is WM.J. Reilly. The cover to the music almost puts a smile on your face even though the war is a sad time. The tune of this song feels upbeat. It's light, short, and almost has a bounce to it. The lyrics talk of a young man getting his gun, and going off to fight "Over There" for his country. The song shows great pride in being part of the American troops during WWI.
A second song, "Keep the Home Fires Burning", was also popular during WWI. Unlike "Over There", this sheet music did not have a fancy cover (that I could find). It was more plain, with simple black print on white paper. The lyrics in this song talk specifically about the people who have men off fighting. These people need to keep hope and have faith that their loved ones will come home. The tune is uplifting. It's not quite "cheery", but it's almost hopeful.
Both songs I have talked about make the war seem okay. The songs give hope to those at home and hope to those going off to fight. The songs seem to lighten the heavy mood that comes with the word war.
I don't know any songs specifically about war off the top of my head that was written within the past decade. Most songs today deal with heartache, love, drugs, and partying. I don't believe that sheet music is quite as colorful today as it was during WWI. In band I see the scores, or conductor's pieces. These are just black and white, with nothing fancy on the front. However, if you go to a music store and by a book of music to play on the piano, the front cover of this is still bright, colorful, and catches your eye. During the time of WWI, you couldn't buy whole books of music; you had to buy the individual songs. Because of this, the covers for sheet music had to be appealing and eye catching. Today, the cover of a book full of sheet music is appealing, but not the individual sheets themselves.
I appreciated the comments on this unique topic. Our music teaches us a great deal, demonstrating our values and thinking. Nice job...I enjoyed reading these posts:)
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