Topic: Anti-War Blues

[oddenda]

John -

         Thanks for bringing up Henry Johnson - there was also Pernell Charity's recording of "Gonna Dig Myself a Hole" that came from Crudup's recording.

Peter B.

[Rivers]

War Song, solo harp & vocal, Buster Brown, available on the Red River Blues 1934 - 1943 Flyright comp & also Deep River of Song - Georgia, belongs here. It's not all anti-war, there's some sabre rattling mixed-in. Buster plays a nice old-style harp with whoopin' and has a great voice. Song is about WW2, bombs, airplanes, people running every which way.

While I'm at it, War Is Starting Again, Lightnin' Hopkins, is very bluesy. My copy is on the Rhino Mojo Hand: The Anthology album.

[Filbert Cobb]

Going to Germany (Cannon's Jug Stompers) and Army Mule in No-Man's Land (Coley Jones and the Dallas String Band) are old favourites of mine, if not classically anti-war

FC

[Stumblin]

Thanks for bringing this thread up, I'm kind of new here too!
I found this interesting review, which might pass a few idle moments - if you remember those...

[uncle bud]

Going to Germany (Cannon's Jug Stompers) and Army Mule in No-Man's Land (Coley Jones and the Dallas String Band) are old favourites of mine, if not classically anti-war

FC

Hi FC - for a discussion of Going to Germany referring not to the war but to Germantown near Memphis, see this thread: http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=128&topic=1852.0

cheers,
UB

[Johnm]

Hi all,
There are a couple of interesting war-time experience blues on the JSP "New York Blues" set, performed by Sonny Boy & Lonnie, a group that according to the liner notes, blues researcher Chris Smith, has acertained after spending years working on figuring out their identities, may have been A. Smith (Sonny Boy) on vocals and guitar, Lonnie Johnson, not "the" Lonnie Johnson, on piano and Sam Bradley on second guitar. 
The two songs, "Southwest Pacific Blues" and "Big Moose Blues" are close to being identical, musically speaking.  Both find the lead guitarist accompanying himself out of G in standard tuning.  Sonny Boy had an unusual mannerism of repeating words in his lines.  His singing is strong, and in "Southwest Pacific Blues", the "ooooo" that opens the repetition of his opening lines nudges sharper and sharper the longer he holds it.  His opening verse appears to have been influenced by Robert Johnson's "Me And the Devil Blues". 

   "Southwest Pacific Blues"

   Early one Tuesday mornin', when the mailman knocked upon my door
   Ooooooooo, when the mailman knocked upon my door
   He said, "I'm sorry, Sonny Boy, I believe you've got to go."

   Spoken, during solo:  Pick 'em out, Mr. Bradley.  Yes, now!  Mama!  Oh, send me!

   They took me down to the Cumberland Tower, that's where th big boat roll me away
   Ooooooooo, That's where the big boat row rolled me away
   I said, "Bye bye, little baby, Little Man may return someday."

   I mean I rode the Southwest Pacific, I rode it both day and night
   Ooooooooo, Lordy, I rode it both day and night
   Lordy, don't let nobody tell you, there's nothin' over there but a whole lots of Hell

   Lordy, tell my dear old mother what a fool Little Boy have been
   Ooooooooo, what a fool Little Man, Man have been
   I said, "Bye bye, little baby, Little Man can't be the same old way."

   "Big Moose Blues"

   It was in San Fanfrisco, it was way way out in the Bay
   It was in 1943, it was way, way out, out in the Bay
   Yes, that's the Tuesday mornin' that old Big Moose row rolled us away

   We rode that Pacific, sailed it both day and night
   we rode that Pacific, sailed it both day, day, day and night
   Yes, some was drinkin' and gamblin', some was low, low down on their knees

   Japanese bomb was fallin', fallin' down, down, down from the sky
   Japanese bomb was fallin', fallin' down, down, down from the sky
   Sometime I wanted to leave that ship hold, but I had no place to go

   We land in French Haven, New Guinea, it was on the twenty-fifth day
   When we land in French Haven, New Guinea, it was on the twenty, twenty-fifth day
   Then I said, "Lord, Lord have mercy.  Have mercy on our poor G.I. souls."

All best,
Johnm

   

[LB]

Mr Frank Edwards, from Atlanta, had a song on Okeh records "Get Together" that talks about WWII. It's not so much like a protest song but one thing that has always bugged me, there are very few people, even soldiers that actually love war. So in many ways most people with few exceptions are by default Anti-War. Perhaps there are a lot more songs when you include all songs related to war.

Question, when Charlie Patton sings  "I'm goin away, to a world unknown" and then "Some people say overseas blues aint bad. Is he talking about the first world war era?

[un5trung]

"Let's Settle in Vietnam," Sam Hopkins

The Son House song mentioned in the original post was called "American Defense" and I've always heard it as war propaganda. It encourages growing produce, joining the army, and killing so many "Japs" that there wouldn't be enough left to play a game of craps. Listen to it again -- some of the lyrics are hard to make out, but it's propaganda, not an anti-war song. Someone else mentioned hearing it in the Vietnam era -- I don't doubt that he did, and I'd imagine that in that context the lyrics were adapted to fit the mood of the times.
Robert

[JohnLeePimp]

At least... I think it's anti-war

[jostber]

These two recent compilations have some anti-war songs:

Bloody War : Songs 1924-1939 (Tompkins Square)



The Great War (Archaephone Records)

[Rivers]

Arthur Big Boy Crudup's Give Me A 32-20 (built on a 45 frame) is a nice 'got a letter from Uncle Sam' variation, with some fairly ironic lyrics. It's on the juke.

[frailer24]

Sadly, this one is very far on the edge, but all the others I know have been mentioned. Arlo Guthrie- "Alice's Restaraunt Massacree." Feel free to disregard this.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I don't know if any of you have read Henry Townsend's autobiography, but his account of his military service offers a real life case of anti-war blues.  Actually, by his own account, Henry was a conscientious objector, not to war, per se, but to taking orders and military life.  He had the guts simply to refuse to take any orders from the point at which he was inducted until he was discharged.  He didn't want to be there and figured, correctly, that that whole way of life is dependent on soldiers taking orders.  He wouldn't do it, so he was out of there pretty quickly--the military can't afford to have someone setting that kind of example for the other soldiers.
I suppose it is the kind of independence you might find in someone who left home at the age of nine.
All best,
Johnm 

[Old Man Ned]

Well I didn't think it was possible but Henry Townsend has just gone further up in my estimation.  On the anti-war thread I'll chip in with Charlie Sayles's Vietnam

[daddystovepipe]

War News Blues by Lightnin' Hopkins


You may turn your radio on soon in the morning, sad news every day
You may turn your radio on soon in the morning, sad news every day
Yes, you know, I got a warning, trouble is on its way

Poor children running, crying, "Whoa, mama, mama, now what shall we do?"
Poor children running, crying, "Whoa, mama, mama, now what shall we do?"
"Yes" she said, "You had better pray, children, same thing is happening to mama too"

I'm gonna dig me a hole this morning, dig it deep down in the ground
I'rn gonna dig me a hole this morning, dig it deep down in the ground
So if it should happen to drop a bomb around somewhere, I can't hear the echo when it sounds