WWI Sheet Music: The Dead of No Man's Land

No Man's Land. You know it from countless films. The land between the armies that was cordoned off by barbed wire and filled with land mines, a blasted landscape that looked more like Hell than France. In WWI men were ordered 'over the top' of the foxholes to charge across the open land as enemy guns were shooting at them.

Most of the WWI songs like The Laddies Who Fought and Won by Harry Lauder were rousing, pro-war propaganda. Listen to a recording of Lauder singing it here.

There's a dear old lady,
Mother Britain is her name,
And she's all the world to me.
She's a dear old soul, always the same,
With a heart a big as three.
And when troubles and trials are knocking at her door, 
And the day seems dark and long,
Her sons on the land and her sons on the sea
They all march to this song,

[Chorus] 
When the fighting is over, and the war is won,
And the flags are waving free,
When the bells are ringing ,
And the boys are singing songs in ev'ry key,
When we all gather' round the old fireside,
And the old mother kisses her son,
A' the lassies will be loving all the laddies,
The laddies who fought and won.

[Verse 2]
We can all look back to the his'try of the past
That has made us what we are.
We have pledged our word we all shall hold fast,
Be the day away so far.
And till that time comes, let us fight and fight
Let us fight till vic'try's won.
We will never give in, we are out to win
To the very last man and gun.

Other songs that told a different story. Stories about the men who never came home to be kissed by the ladies. Stories of those at home who felt the loss of fathers and sons and husbands. It is believed that 20 million soldiers died in WWI, 2 in 3 from combat. In 1921 the Census of England and Wales had revealed that there were 1.72 million more women than men.

A real heartbreaker, Hello Central! Give Me No Man's Land by Samm. Lewis, Joe Young and Jean Schwartz, 1918, with a cover by Barbelle, was sung by Al. Jolson with all the wavering voice emotion he is famous for. The song is the story of a child who is secretly trying to call her daddy at the war. It can be considered an anti-war song. Listen to Jolson sing it here.

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."
[Repeat]

Through the curtains of the night
Comes a beautiful light
And the sunshine that beams
Finds a baby in dreams.
Mamma look in to see
Where her darling can be
She finds her baby still in her slumber deep
A whispering while she's fast asleep:

"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."

****

Throughout my sharing from my WWI vintage sheet music collection, I have shared both pro-war and antiwar songs. I want to share a more modern song about the war which my husband and I first heard sung by Priscilla Herdman in concert.

In 1976 Eric Bogle wrote No Man's Land, also known as The Green Fields of France and as Willie McBride. Listen to Bogle sing it here. Listen to Herdman's version here.

Well how do you do, Private William McBride
Do you mind if I sit here down by your grave side?
A rest for awhile in the warm summer sun
I've been walking all day and I'm nearly done
And I see by your gravestone that you were only 19
When you joined the glorious fallen in 1916
Well I hope you died quick and I hope you died clean
Or, William McBride, was it slow and obscene?

Chorus:
Did they beat the drum slowly?
Did they sound the pipes lowly?
Did the rifles fire o'er ye as they lowered you down?
Did the bugle sing 'The Last Post' in chorus?
Did the pipes play 'The Flowers o' the Forest'?

And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind?
In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined
And though you died back in 1916
To that loyal heart are you always 19
Or are you just a stranger without even a name
Forever enclosed behind some glass-pane
In an old photograph torn and tattered and stained
And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame?
(Chorus)

Well the sun it shines down on these green fields of France
The warm wind blows gently and the red poppies dance
The trenches are vanished now under the plough
No gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now
But here in this graveyard it is still No Man's Land
And the countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man
And a whole generation that was butchered and downed
(Chorus)

And I can't help but wonder now Willie McBride
Do all those who lie here know why they died?
Did you really believe them when they told you the cause?
Did you really believe them that this war would end war?
But the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame -
The killing, the dying - it was all done in vain
For Willie McBride, it's all happened again
And again, and again, and again, and again
(Chorus)

Read about WWI songs as propaganda at Parlour Songs Academy here and Over There: Sheet Music and Propaganda During WWI from the NY Historical Society here.

Vintage WWI Sheet Music: America to the Rescue

Many WWI songs roused American pride to rally support for the war. 

Liberty Bell It's Time to Ring Again by Joe Goodwin and Halsey K. Mohr, 1917, with illustration by Barbelle, was a call to arms. Listen to Arthur Field's recording here, which reached No. 5 in the hit song charts.

You have rested, Lib-er-ty Bell, for a hundred years and more,
End your slum-ber Lib-er-ty Bell, ring as you did before,
It's time to wake 'em up, it's time to shake 'em up,
It's a cause worth ringing for:

CHORUS:
Lib-er-ty Bell, it's time to ring again,
Lib-er-ty Bell, it's time to swing again,
We're in the same sort of fix, we were in seventy-six,
And we are ready to mix and rally 'round you like we did before, oh!
Lib-er-ty Bell, your voice is needed now,
Lib-er-ty Bell, we'll hear your call, one and all,
Though you're old and there's a crack in you
Don't forget Old Glor-y's back-in' you,
Oh! Lib-er-ty Bell, it's time to ring again.

Once you rang out, Lib-er-ty Bell, as we watched Old Glory wave,
You have made us, Lib-er-ty Bell, Land of the Free and Brave,
It's time to sing again, it's time to ring again,
For the cause you've got to save:
CHORUS

****

When Yankee Doodle Marches Through Berlin There'll Be a Hot Time in the U.S.A. by Andrew B. Sterling and Arthur Lange, 1917, illustrated by Stammer, is another example of American surety of victory. 

The whole population of the big French nation 
Were lined up on the street one day. 
Ev’ry flag was flying, ev’ry heart was sighing, 
For the Yankee boys were coming down that way. 
When suddenly a Yankee voice cried out. 
They could tell it was a Yankee when they heard the shout. 

Refrain: Here they come, here they come, 
And the drums are beating there’ll be no retreating 
They’ll be there, they’ll be there. 
For there’s a victr’y in the air. 
And they’ll win, yes they’ll win. 
Then they’ll flash the news to old Broadway, 
And when Yankee Doodle marches thro’ Berlin 
There’ll be a hot time in the U.S.A. 

Just picture them dashing, 
when the news comes flashing, 
“We’ve hauled the Kaisers ‘Black Flag’ down.”
To set bonfires burning for the boy returning 
From the trenches to his little old hometown. 
“Just take a look,” they heard that Yankee cry, 
“Then go tell the Kaiser he can kiss himself goodbye.”
Refrain

****

Just Like Washington Crossed the Delaware General Pershing Will Cross the Rhine by Howard Johnson and Geo. W. Meyer, 1917, contends that America will "tell the world it simply has to be" that they will preserve Democracy. Listen to a recording here.

Looking backward through the ages, 
We can read on hist’ry’s pages, 
Deeds that famous men have done, 
We are told of great commanders 
Wellington and Alexanders, 
And the battles they have won. 

Take our own great Revolution 
That began our evolution, 
Washington then won his fame, 
Today across the sea, 
They’re making history, 
The Yankee spirit still remains the same. 

Refrain: 
Just like Washington crossed the Delaware, 
So will Pershing cross the Rhine, 
As they followed after George, 
At dear old Valley Forge, 
Our boys will break that line. 
It’s for your land and my land 
And the sake of Auld Lang Syne, 
Just like Washington crossed the Delaware, 
Gen’ral Pershing will cross the Rhine. 

Verse: 
There upon the roll of honor, 
Ev’ry one the soul of honor, 
We find heroes of the past, 
Like the ones who’ve gone before them 
To our native land that bore them, 
They were faithful to the last. 
As they fought for Independence,
You and I and our descendants
Must preserve Democracy,
In God above we'll trust.
Our sword shall never rust,
We'll tell the world it simply has to be.
(refrain)

****

Not all the songs were rallies and calls to arms. A real heartbreaker, War Babies by Ballard McDonald, Edward Madden, and James F. Hanley, 1916 has a cover photograph of children in front of a destroyed village. Al Jolson sang it at the Winter Garden. It amounts to an anti-war song.

Forsaken, alone, amid tumbled down stone, ‎
In the dust of what once was a home, ‎
Two little tots lay, as the close of the day ‎
Cast its shadow o'er Heaven's blue dome, ‎
From afar in the gloom came the cannon's dull boom, ‎
The roar of its shells filled the air, ‎
And it lulled them to rest tightly held ‎
to the breast of the mother who died for them there 

Little war babies, our hearts ache for you,‎
Where will you go to, and what will you do?‎
Into a world full of sorrow you came,‎
Homeless and helpless, no one knows your name.‎
Gone is the mother love tender and true,‎
Gone is your dead daddy, too;‎
But you’ll share in the joys
Of our own girls and boys,‎
War babies, we’ll take care of you

While sitting some night by your fireside bright, ‎
With the children you love and adore, ‎
Just let your thoughts roam to that tumbled down home ‎
That once stood in the pathway of war, ‎
As the vision appears, you can see thru your tears ‎
The two little tots all alone, ‎
Will you wait till they plead for the things that they need? ‎
Just suppose those two babes were your own 

Little war babies, our hearts ache for you,‎
Where will you go to, and what will you do?‎
Into a world full of sorrow you came,‎
Homeless and helpless, no one knows your name.‎
Gone is the mother love tender and true,‎
Gone is your dead daddy, too;‎
But you’ll share in the joys
Of our own girls and boys,‎
War babies, we’ll take care of you

WWI Vintage Sheet Music: Mostly Comic Songs About Army Life

Many WWI songs were about the boys leaving home, family and girls, and adjusting to army life. Some are sentimental, but most are comic songs.

They Were All Out of Step But Jim by Irving Berlin, 1918, has a marvelous cover by Barbelle and was sung by Blanche King. Hear it sung by Billy Murray here.

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 evening

Filled up with delight

And to all the neighbors

She would yell with all her might

[Chorus]

"Did you see my little Jimmy marching

With the soldiers up the avenue?

There was Jimmy just as stiff as starch

Just like his father on the seventeenth o' March

Did you notice all the lovely ladies

Casting their eyes at him?

Away he went

To live in a tent

Over in France with his regiment

Were you there, and tell me, did you notice?

They were all out of step but Jim"

That night little Jimmy's father stood

Buying the drinks for the crowd

You could tell that he was feeling good

He was talking terribly loud

Twenty times he treated

My, but he was dry

When his glass was empty

He would treat again and cry

[Chorus]

***

There's a Vacant Chair in Every Home Tonight. 1917, by Alfred Bryan and Ernest Breuer, was illustrated by Barbelle. I am sure it brought tears to many a mother. Listen to a recording here.

In ev’ry mansion, ev’ry cottage all throughout the land, 
There’s a mother heart that’s feeling blue. 
Her darling boy is missing, he was gone with sword in hand, 
To make our country safe for me and you. 
In ev’ry mother’s eye there is a tear. 
And on her lips a prayer could you but hear. 

Refrain: 
There’s a vacant chair that’s waiting there in ev’ry home tonight. 
And a lonesome mother’s dreaming by the fire burning bright. 
She is thinking of her gallant boy who is fighting for the right. 
There’s a vacant chair in ev’ry home tonight. 

Verse: 
She fondly gazes at his picture hanging on the wall, 
Seems but yesterday he went away. 
Her dear lips keep repeating he’s the bravest boy of all. 
I’m lonely but I’m proud of him today, 
And oft she murmurs to herself alone, 
I hope that I’ll be here when he comes home.

 Refrain

***

This comedy song makes fun of the Irish. Where Do We Go From Here by Howard Johnson and Percy Wenrich, 1917 was performed by the Klein Brothers. The Klein brothers had a vaudeville act in which one spoke gibberish. Asked what it meant he replied, who cares as long as they laugh? 

I can't identify the illustrator, but it shows a smiling soldier coming through a broken wall with the war behind him. Listen to a recording here.

Pad-dy Mack drove a hack up and down Broad-way,

Pat had one ex-pres-sion and he'd use it ev-'ry day,

An-y time he'd grab a fare, to take them for a ride,

Pad-dy jumped up-on the seat, - cracked his whip and cried:

Chorus:

"Where do we go from here, boys? Where do we go from here?"

An-y-where from Har-lem to a Jer-sey Cit-y pier,

When Pat would spy a pret-ty girl, he'd whis-per in her ear:

"Oh, joy! Oh, boy! Where do we go from here?"

One fine day, on Broad-way, Pat was driv-ing fast,

When the street was blown to pie-ces by a sub-way blast,

Down the hole poor Pad-dy went, a-think-ing of his past,

Then he says, says he, I think these words will be my last:

Chorus

"Where do we go from here, boys? Where do we go from here?"

Pad-dy's neck was in the wreck, but still he had no fear,

He saw a dead man next to him and whis-pered in his ear:

"Oh, joy! Oh, boy! Where do we go from here?"

First of all, at the call, when the war be-gan,

Pat en-list-ed in the ar-my as a fight-ing man,

When the drills be-gan they'd walk a hun-dred miles a day,

Tho' the rest got tir-ed, Pad-dy al-ways used to say:

Chorus

"Where do we go from here, boys? Where do we go from here?"

Slip a pill to Kai-ser Bill and make him shed a tear,

And when we see the en-e-my we'll shoot them in the rear,

"Oh, joy! Oh, boy! Where do we go from here?"

***

It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary is one of the most well known WWI songs. Written by Jack Judge and Harry Williams, 1912, it came out of the British Music Hall. "The Sensational Irish March Song Success" also features Paddy. Listen to a recording by John McCormick here.

Up to mighty London
Came an Irishman one day.
As the streets are paved with gold
Sure, everyone was gay,
Singing songs of Piccadilly,
Strand and Leicester Square,
Till Paddy got excited,
Then he shouted to them there:

Chorus
It's a long way to Tipperary,
It's a long way to go.
It's a long way to Tipperary,
To the sweetest girl I know!
Goodbye, Piccadilly,
Farewell, Leicester Square!
It's a long long way to Tipperary,
But my heart's right there.

Paddy wrote a letter
To his Irish Molly-O,
Saying, "Should you not receive it,
Write and let me know!"
"If I make mistakes in spelling,
Molly, dear," said he,
"Remember, it's the pen that's bad,
Don't lay the blame on me!"

Chorus

Molly wrote a neat reply
To Irish Paddy-O,
Saying "Mike Maloney
Wants to marry me, and so
Leave the Strand and Piccadilly
Or you'll be to blame,
For love has fairly drove me silly:
Hoping you're the same!"

Chorus

***

A popular Canadian WWI song was K-K-K-Katy, 1918, by Geoffrey O'Hara, Army Song Leader. Hear Billy Murray sing it here. Read about the composer here.

Jimmy was a soldier brave and bold
Katy was a maid with hair of gold
Like an act of fate, Kate was standing at the gate
Watching all the boys file on parade
Kate smiled with a twinkle in her eye
Jim said "M-m-meet you by-and-by!"
That same night at eight
Jim was at the garden gate
Stuttering this song to K-K-K-Kate

[Chorus
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 cow shed
I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door

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 cow shed
I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door

[Verse 2]
"No one ever looked so nice and neat!"
"No one could be just as cute and sweet!"
That's what Jimmy thought
When the wedding ring he bought
Now he's off to France the foe to meet
Jimmy thought he'd like to take a chance
See if he could make the Kaiser dance
Stepping to a tune all about the silv'ry moon
This is what they hear in far off France

[Chorus]
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 cow shed
I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door

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 cow shed
I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door

***

Another well-known WWI comic song is Irving Berlin's Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning, 1918, with another Barbelle cover. It was performed by Bob Hall.

Berlin wrote the comic song after he was conscripted into the army as part of a fund-raising show. He never saw combat. Listen to a recording by Arthur Fields here.

The other day I chanced to meet a soldier friend of mine, 
He’d been in camp for sev’ral weeks and he was looking fine, 
His muscles had developed and his cheeks were rosy red, 
I asked him how he liked the life, 
And this is what he said:

[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!

Someday I’m going to murder the bugler, 
Someday 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.

[Verse 2] 
A bugler in the army is the luckiest of men,
he wakes the boys at five and then goes back to bed again; 
He doesn’t have to blow again until the afternoon, 
If ev’ry thing goes well with me I’ll be a bugler soon.

[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!

Oh! boy the minute the battle is over, 
Oh! boy the minute the foe is dead, 
I’ll put my uniform away and move to Philadelphia,

And spend the rest of my life in bed.

***

I Don't Want to Get Well by Harry Pease and Howard Johnson, music by Harry Jentes, 1917, is another comic song about army life. The cover shows a wounded soldier cared for by a pretty nurse while out the window combat ensues. Listen to a recording by Van & Schneck here and by Eddie Cantor here.

 I just received an answer to a letter that I wrote, 
From a pal who marched away. 
He was wounded in the trenches somewhere in France 
And I worried about him night and day. 
“Are you getting well,” was what I wrote. 
This is what he answered in his note: 

Refrain: 
“I don’t want to get well. I don’t want to get well. 
I’m in love with a beautiful nurse. 
Early ev’ry morning night and noon, 
The cutest little girlie comes and feeds me with the spoon
I don’t want to get well. 
I don’t want to get well. 
I’m glad they shot me on the fighting line fine. 
The doctor says that I’m in bad condition 
But oh oh oh I’ve got so much ambition. 
I don’t want to get well. I don’t want to get well 
For I’m having a wonderful time."

Verse: I showed this letter to a friend who lives next door to me 
And I heard him quickly say “Goodbye, pal, I must be going.
 I’m off to war, And I hope that I’m wounded right away.
 If what’s in this letter here is true,
 I’ll get shot and then I’ll write: (chorus)

***

Come On Papa by Edgar Leslie and Harry Ruby, 1918, with another great Barbelle cover. Eddie Cantor may be pictured on the cover but he may not have performed it. Hear an orchestral version here.

Another comic song that again portrays war as a fun adventure. Meet nurses. Meet girls. 

Sweet Marie in gay Paree 
Had a motor car;
It filled her heart with joy,
To drive a Yankee boy;
On the sly, shed wink her eye,
If one came her way,
She'd stop her motor car
And then she'd say:

chorus:
Come on papa
Hop in ze motor car
Sit by mama
And hold ze hand
You start to raise for me
What zay call ze deuce
I'll be so sweet to you
Like ze Charlotte Russe
Come on papa
Beneath the shining star
Bounce your babe upon your knee
I'll give you a kiss like ze mademoiselles do
Each time you ask for one
I'll give you two
Comme ci comme ca
And when you're in ze car
You love mama
Oo-la-la, Oo-la-la
Come on papa

Yankee boys make lots of noise,
When they're in Paree;
They like to promenade
Up on ze Boul-e-vard;
They all know Marie and so,
Any time she's near,
They knock each other down,
Each time they hear: (chorus)

WWI Sheet Music: Memories of France

My collection of vintage sheet music from a hundred years ago includes many songs written about WWI. Today I am sharing songs set in France--in particular songs about women. It is hard to consider the horrors of war that lurks behind these sentimental songs.

Memories of France by Al Dubin and J. Russet Robinson, 1928 has this dedication: 

"To our pals in the American Legion 

We dedicate this refrain

If it makes but one of you  happy

It was not written in vain."

Listen to it here.

Like a lot of little bubbles
I can blow away my troubles
Dreaming of my romance

With a pretty little daughter
Of a land across the water
I dream that I'm back in France

Someone whispers to me
"I love you, my cherie"
In my memories of France

And we stroll once again
By the old River Seine
In my memories of France

And I see her still placing roses
Where many an old pal reposes
And we laugh and we cry
Then a kiss, then goodbye
In my memories of France

And I see her still placing roses
Where many an old pal reposes
And we laugh and we cry
Then a kiss, then goodbye
In my memories of France

The back cover of the sheet music features this Recitation:

The war has long been forgotten,

And it's best that we should forget,--

It's an old story now, but still, somehow,

There are dreams that linger yet.

It's not the dream of the battle

And it's not the shot and the shell,--

It's the mem'ry of a doughboy in love

And a sweet little Mademoiselle,

You can blot out the mem'ry of bullets

When the years roll by like this,

But you can't erase a beautiful face

And the mem'ry of a kiss.

You ca even forgive the enemy,--

Forgive them as time goes by,

But a long as you live you'll enver forgive

Yourself,--For saying goodboye.

Maybe she was'nt your sweetheart,--

You considered her only a toy,

But when God made her kind, He had in mind

A homesick soldier boy:

She would laugh, she would cry,

Then a kiss, then "goodbye,"

In my memories of France.

***

Somewhere in France is the Lily by Jos. E. Howard and Philander Johnson, 1917, sung by Howard, has a fantastic cover by Starmer. The image of the French 'lily' is central, but the bombs bursting in air and men in trenches remind this is a war song. Listen to Henry Burr sing it here. It has a definite martial sound.

One day as morning shed its glow 
Across the eastern sky 
A boy and girl in accents low in a garden said “Goodbye!” 
She said “Remember as you stray, 
When each must do his share,
The flowers blooming here today 
Are emblems over there!”

[Refrain] 
Somewhere in France is the Lily, 
Close by the English Rose; 
Somewhere in France is a sweetheart, 
Facing the battle’s chance, 
For the flow’r of our youth fights for freedom and truth
Somewhere in France

Each morning in that garden fair, 
Where sweetest perfumes dwell, 
The lassie whispers low a pray’r 
For the flowr’s she loves so well. 
And over there as night draws near,
Amid the shot and flame, 
Unto the flag he holds so dear,
A soldier breathes her name.
[Refrain]

***

Not all the women that soldiers met in France were love interests.

Written as a tribute to the Red Cross nurses, Rose of No Man's Land by Jack Caddigan and James A. Brennan, 1917, features an illustration is of a Red Cross nurse looking into a ray of light. This Patriotic War Edition that was printed on smaller paper to help the war effort. Hear it sung by Henty Burr here along with WWI photos.

I've seen some beautiful flowers
Grow in life's garden fair
I've spent some wonderful hours
Lost in their fragrance rare
But I have found another
Wondrous beyond compare....

There's a rose that grows in no-man's land
And it's wonderful to see
Though its sprayed with tears, it will live for years
In my garden of memory

It's the one red rose the soldier knows
It's the work of the Master's hand
'Neath the War's great curse stands a Red Cross nurse
She's the rose of no-man's land

Out in the heavenly splendor 
Down to the trail of woe
God in his mercy has sent her
Fearing the World below
We call her Rose of Heaven
We've longed to love her so....

There's a rose that grows in no-man's land
And it's wonderful to see
Though its sprayed with tears, it will live for years
In my garden of memory

It's the one red rose the soldier knows
It's the work of the Master's hand
'Neath the War's great curse stands a Red Cross nurse
She's the rose of no-man's land

***

And He'd Say "Oo-La-La Wee-Wee" by Harry Ruby and George Jessell, 1919, has a marvelous cover illustration by Barbelle. This is a comedy song.  Hear it sung by Billy Murray here.

Willie Earl met a sweet young girl one day in France,

Her naughty little glance, put Willie in a trance; 

Willie Earl couldn't understand her talk you see,

He only knew two words in French

That he learned in the trench,

They were "oo-la-la" and "wee-wee."

They would spoon beneath the moon above

It was fun to hear them making love.

Chorus

She'd say "compronay voo, papa?"

and he'd say "oo-la-la! wee-wee"

She'd smile and whisper "mercy bacoo"

He'd answer "I don't mind if I do"

She'd say if you be my papa" then I will be your macherie

She'd pinch his cheek and say "you keskasay:

He'd say "Not now, dear, but later I may;"

Then she'd say "compronay voo, papa?"

and he'd say "oo-la-la! wee-wee."

Willie Earl said, "this little girl is meant for me,

No more I'll cross to the sea,

I'll stay in Gay Paree.

Ev'ry day you would hear him say to his babee,

"Your talk I do not know, but I,

Will manage to get by, with my "oo-la-la" and "wee-wee"

Ev'ry ev'ning Willie would rehearse

Instead of getting better he got worse

She'd say "compronay voo, papa?" 

and he'd say "oo-la-la! wee-wee"

She'd say "come see" and then roll her eyes,

He'd answer, "baby you'd be surprised."

Each ev'ning they would promenade,

upon zeboulevarde you see;

One day at lunch she said "cafe voola" 

He said "my dear, don't forget where you are;" 

Then she'd say "compronay voo, papa?" 

and he'd say "oo-la-la! wee-wee."

***

Oh! Frenchy by Sam Ehrlich and Con Conrad, 1918, illustrated by EE Walton, switches the love story around. A nurse falls in love with a French soldier because of his accent.

Rosie Green was a village queen, 
Who enlisted as a nurse 
She waited for a chance 
And left for France with an Ambulance, 
Rosie Green met a chap named 
Jean, a soldier from Paree, 
When he said, “Parlevous my pet” 
She said, “I will but not just yet,” 
When he’d speak in French to her, 
She’d answer lovingly, “Oh!”

Chorus
Frenchy, Oh Frenchy, Frenchy, 
Although your language is so new to me, 
When you say, “Oui oiu, la la” 
“We” means you and me, la la- 
Oh! Frenchy, Oh Frenchy, Frenchy, 
You’ve won my love with your bravery, 
March on, March on, with any girl you see, 
But when you la la la la la, 
Oh, Frenchy save you la la la’s for me. 
Oh! me

Rosie Green married Soldier Jean when his furlough time arrived, 
She said, “Go pack your grip 
We’ll take a trip on a big steam ship,” 
Rosie Green took her soldier Jean down home somewhere in Maine, 
They say her rural Pa and Ma, 
Refused to do that oo la la, 
But when she’s alone with him you’ll hear the same refrain, 
Oh! (chorus)

 ***

Joan of Arc represented national pride to the French soldiers who carried her image into battle.

Joan of Arc They Are Calling You by Alfred Bryan, Willie Weston, and Jack Wells, illustrated by Barbelle, calls on the Maid of Orleans to harken to her country in her time of need. The lyrics are in English and French. Hear Henry Burr sing it here.

While you are sleeping, 
Your France is weeping,
Wake from your dreams, Maid of France.
Her heart is bleeding;
Are you unheeding?
Come with the flame in your glance;
Through the Gates of Heaven, with your sword in hand,
Come your legions to command.

CHORUS
Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc,
Do your eyes, from the skies, see the foe?
Don't you see the drooping Fleurdelis?
Can't you hear the tears of Normandy?
Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc,
Let your spirit guide us through;
Come lead your France to victory;
Joan of Arc, they are calling you. Joan of you.

Alsace is sighing,
Lorraine is crying,
Their mother, France, looks to you.
Her sons at Verdun;
Bearing the burden,
Pray for your coming anew;
At the Gates of Heaven, do they bar your way?
Souls that passed through yesterday.