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Big Bands & Swing

Songs During a Time of War*

The Swing Era*
Swing: The Music*
Songs During a Time of War*
Frank Sinatra: A Musical Sensation*
Importance of the Radio*
Big Bands: Fast Facts*
Well-Known Musical Artists*
Works Consulted

The musical tunes heard during the war were especially patriotic, it was important that people were reminded of and expressed their pride in their nation. Musical arrangers and writers answered to the pleas of the war, by creating inspirational songs for those soldiers fighting on the battlefield as well as for hose citizens who remained at home.


Some song presented quite a jolly feeling to them. They were extremely nationalistic and completely silly. Their titles were similarly catchy and somewhat humorous just due to the peculiarity. Such titles included "We're Gonna find a Feller Who is a Yeller and Beat Him Red, White, and Blue", and "The Japs Don't Have a Chinaman's Chance".



It was often that soldiers felt lonely, longed for their loved ones back home and felt a means of seperation, so these themes were usually incorporated in a majority of war songs and they took on a special meaning. They were songs the soldiers could relate to, songs that expressed what they were feeling. One popular tune that make soldiers held a predilection towards was Bing Crosby's "White Christmas".

Of course, there were also those songs that concerned the Great Depression and spoke of such hopeful ideas as money falling from the skies and rainbows and other happy ideas. However, popular songs of WWII unfortunately focused on the discontent of many, even the titles of these songs were depressing: "I'll Never Smile Again", "Sentimental Journey", and "I'll Walk Alone".

Honors Madman Project