Podcast Episode 137: Songs Of The Great War

November 29, 2018

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, I have in this episode five songs for you that were recorded during World War I and are about the war. The songs are "Over There" by Enrico Caruso, "Keep the Home Fires Burning" by John McCormack, "Good Bye Broadway, Hello France" by The American Quartet, "Madelon" by Amparito Farrar, and "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" by Morton Harvey.

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Cue file with track information

Songs

• Over There sung by Enrico Caruso
• "Over There" on Wikipedia
• More about the "Black Hand" extortion racket that went after Caruso on Wikipedia
• A little more on Caruso and the Black Hand from NPR
• Keep the Home Fires Burning by John McCormack
• More about "Keep the Home Fires Burning" on Wikipedia
• A little more about the background to WWI and the "powder keg of Europe", which I mentioned in this episode
• The Serbian Black Hand, completely different from the one that went after Caruso
• The Rape of Belgium, which is referred to in this song
• The story behind World War I’s greatest anthem, 100 years on
• Good Bye Broadway, Hello France performed by the American Quartet
• "Good Bye Broadway, Hello France" on Wikipedia
• Songwriter Billy Baskette on Wikipedia
• Madelon sung by Amparito Farrar
• "La Madelon" on Wikipedia
• I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier sung by Morton Harvey
• Songs of the Peace Movement of World War I
• "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" on Wikipedia

Some other popular WWI Songs

• We'll Do Our Share (While You're Over There)
• There a Long, Long Trail
• Send Me Away with a Smile
• My Sweetheart is Somewhere in France
• Oh! Frenchy
• Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag (And Smile, Smile, Smile)
• Somewhere in France is Daddy
• Somewhere in France is the Lily
• Lorraine
• The 10 best: first world war music
• World War I: The Great War in Song