1940-05-22 — Page 3

Wednesday

HONGKONG TELEGRAPH

May 22, 1940.

mary

MAGAZINE

PAGE

The Soldiers' Battle Songs Down the Ages

Chorus...

By Alan R. Dower

Black, white or yellow-the warriors of the nations have sung their way to battle through every age. Times and tunes have changed since the Roman legions marched to Veralamlum to meet Caractacus with a song of triumph on their lips; but, even down to the present day, the hymn of battle has been encouraged in every army of the world.

T

is not altogether a boast of national ego or regimental pride. Any soldier who ins trudged the weary miles knows the value of a lusty song to aching limbs and jaded spirits.

The songs these soldiers singt have an Infinite variety, for the music of a nation reflects the char- acteristics of its people."

Rider Haggard, in his novel. "Nada the Lily," gives us the chant of the Zulu impls in their tribal

wars:

"We are the King's kine, bred to be butchered; "And you are one of wa

"We are the Zulu, children of the Lion.

"What Did you tremble?"

I like to think of the Brilish tars in the turrets

of the cruiser Ajax, singing as they closed the action with the Graf Spec:

"For it was flesta, and we were so png, "South of the Border, down Mexico way."

"Yes, a peaceful enough song to an orchestra of guns. But does it not suggest the cool sureness of Drake before the Armada and the doggedness of Gren- ville in the Revenge?

Walter

Roman legion-

aires had their battic songs and so had the Zulus.

Our

own Tommies relish a filting chorus, as do all soldiers.

COD D D D D D

Go down through history to the Crusades and you will find one of the most famillar stock tunes of the present day. Saracens heard the air of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow", when the Crusaders went on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

Winchell Talks

Here is a statement that has interested millions of American radio listeners. It is an answer to a friendly challenge by the Lordon "Sunday Dispatch" to Mr. Walter Winchell, famous American commentator. The "Sunday Dispatch" asked Mr. Winchell: "How do you explain America's peace-time clamour, "Stop the Dictators,' with her present atti- tude of isolationism and indignation over British censorship of United States maïls?”. Here is his answer made by radio.

IT IS true (says Walter Winchell) that America hates oppression, especially cowardly attacks on defenceless political minorities, but we have good reason to distrust Europe. We have learned that nations may be allies yet not have the same objectives.

NOT every hater of tyranny is a lover of democracy; not every foe of Hitler's is a friend of freedom.

TWENTY years ago we had faith. Now we have 11 billion dollars in war debts to re- mind us that Europe's commercial promises are not good, and China, Ethiopia, Austria, Czecho- Slovakia, Albania, Poland, and Finland to remind us that European military treaties are worth even less.

WE think Europe is morally bankrupt, and that it is, a quaint European custom to cry about universal liberty in order to protect selfish national policies.

UNDER certain conditions, if necessary, we will fight to the death-but this time it will be only to defend our own country, our own Bill of Rights" and "our "own"institutions."

YES, it is true that we are 3,000 miles from the firing line, but the so-called civilised belli- gerents are only 500 miles from Finland.

WE do love democracy, but our answer to Europe is Europe's answer to the Czechs, the Austrians, the Albanians, the Poles, and the Finns.

And

Here's The Reply

The Invitation to Mr. Wischell and to other famous columnists was no criticism of America's attitude; but an honest inquiry. It was not an inquiry why America had not joined the "Allies; it was, why America, once Britain was at war with Germany, had substituted for her demand that we should "stop the dictators" a clamour that we should not-allow our war to interfere with America's business routine.

is true that nations may be allies yet not have the same objectives. Towards the end of the last war the United States gave lia mighty nid to our cause. No Briton and no Frenchman will ever feel other than grateful for that intervention, but at the end of the war our objectives differed.

r

President Wilson Inspired the League of Nations, with all its ambitions and all the dimculties which it entailed, America 'quickly repudiated the Lengue, but the Allies stayed in. ETHIOPIA-It was because of the League that Great Britain ozta- gonised her old ally Italy by joining in a programme of sanctions to end. the war in Ethiopia.

Sanctions failed (and the Lengue virtually died) because some coun- tries were not applying sanctions. Among those countries, of course, was the United States.

CHINA-It is hard to believe that Mr. Winchell is serious when he throws China in our faces. England is 10,000 miles sen journey from China

Amerlea may be 3,000 miles away from Europe, but she was much nearer to this particular job of police work than was Britain. She has a huge fleet based on the Pacific and she had a big trade with Japon, which included much of the material which Japan needed to start what she refused to call war.

." -

The United States did not see it to combine with Great Britain in resisting this incuralon. To be fair, it must be sold that she has recently refused to renew her frade treaty with Japan. ..

ALBANIA had no guarantees from Britain or France. It Mr. Win- chell wanted us to go to war with Italy about Albania, there is no reason, why America should not have gone to war with Italy on the samo lasjes, AUSTRIA and CZECHOSLOVAKIA can be grouped. A democracy to wage war requires two things: (1) Conviction by every member of the democracy that wat is justified, and (2) The arms for war.

For a long-time Britain had neither Hitler's absorption of Austria and his demand for the return of the Sudeten minorities still fitted in with

the conception held by a great many people in this country that he sought

only

to reunite the derman-speaking peoples.---- It was only when he repudiated the Munich agreement that the whole of Britain was convinced that the safety of other nations was af stake. Even then we had not the necessary arms, and it is no comfort to the average Briton, in the time we have since taken to rearm ourselves, to be told that this is "ptioney war.""

WAR DEUTS—We appreciate that the war debts sores still smart, but here again facts are, the best solve.

Let Mr.

Winchell not forget that Britain, too, suffered in the war We could vary easily have paid America the book' debi

dobis salted on all that was owed by ally and enemy being pald.

If we had But Europe's economy would have been smashed, and well in among the rulhs would have been America. The so-called repudiation had the heartiest approval of many American economists.

One might add without Intentional bitterness that though America undered our pause and unhappily lost many of her sans, her greater Gerince was, financialsYE PIE VERANT

The United States auppatied us Annucially while her men were train- int. We could not ask for a return of our dead...

POLAND.-After Hitler's IG- pudiation-of-the-Munich agree=| ment, Poland was the next country menaced. Great Britain. and France, at least, offered her an alliance, difcuit though it was to Implement, but the measure of our earnestness is that we are Com mitted to a war which threatens to be the bloodiest in history.

FINLAND may well be the Issue on which we finally part company with Mr. Winchell. Our consciences can rest easy on the statements of responsible Finnish Ministers-rade even in the bitter hour of defeat--that the Allies gove all the help they could, de- apite the obvious geographicni difficulties, and that, although Britain and France were themselves engaged in a major war, they sent money, men, munitions, and sup piles, and wo had still more ready, waiting, the word from the men who were conducting Finland's defence.

The United States, geographically immune from reprisal, talked of a loan to Finland, but the talks fizzled out. In, the end they sent medical ald

This is not enld by way of to- proach to the average American; -it-is-m-plea that our "dimcultier should be better understood by

him.

The original words have been long forgotten, but the same tune was continually on the lips of the great Napoleon. Perhaps we can imagine him softly murmuring it ay be gazed thoughtfully from the little mound at Ratisbon:

"Oh, Marlureek's gone a-fighting, Oh, when will he return?"

WHEN SEBASTOPOL

stormed

was

and taken British troops at the Crimea rejoiced thereafter in a song that was typical of that die-hard period:-

Hurrah! Hurralı! Hurrah! The

deed of deeds is done; Ours is the glorious day, Sebas-

topol is won."

Forty years ago, Britons and Colonials marched Into the Boer War with a carefree "Soldiers of the Queen," "Dolly Grey," and "There's "Air"

"Oh, there's a lot of hair, "You've enough to stuf a chair, "You've got a tidy mop, "Get a little bit of the top. The outlook of the British Tommy has changed little down the centuries. Anthems are rare -Homs-in-his-repertoire-Nor-will- be have the fervor of the "Horst Wessel" song, "Deutschland Uber Alles Auf Der Ganzen. Welt," or the Italian Fascists' "Glovenezza.

Rather does he seek to voice his "Mademoi-

spirits in the Meres"-with

selle Frora

-ever-changing parody-or-the-in----

mortal "Tipperary."

So far, tuls war has not pro duced the Ivor Novello or Jack Judge of the last great struggle, but Gracie Fields bas already Riven "Wish Me Lucks as You Wave Me Goodbye" way

the great popularity it deserves.

New melodies are many, but it

..... ¡ takes a decided bit to displace some of the old time-honoured favourites. "Pack Up Troubles" and "Keep the Home Fires Burning" are always synony mous with periods of fortitude and Little Grey courage, and "The Home in the West" has never lost

appeal.

its

Your

And what soldier has not.

swung along to "Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty" at one time or an- other?

Throughout the dark days of 1914-18. the Royal Air Force sang its disdain of all earthly things;

"So raise your gloatce steady, "This world is a world of les; Here's a health to the dead

already,

"And Hurrah! for the next man

that dies."

O-DAY, as France throbs again to the tramp of marching feet, the Allied forces take up the breezy chorus of "Boomps-a- Dalay," a popular refrain with the French as well as British troops. Sometimes, too, they ask:--- "Who is this man who looks like.

Charlie Chaplin,. "What makes him think that he'

can win a war?

"It can't be his moustache, "'Cause that just 'makės

เช

laugh "And Charlie's done it better,

and before!"

"Voila le boudin-There is the pudding!" chant the hard-bitten sons of the Foreign Legion as they come from the desert to join them, "A rife's not a heavy load, legion- naire!"

"Whether the weather may be

wet or fine,

"We'll just rub along without a

care;

"We're gonna hang out our washing on the Sicpfried Line "If the Sicpfried · Line's, stiil

there!

Such is the optimism of Briusha youth when it forms its ranks for battle....

ot

Not unlike it in sentiment was the Texan battle song during the 1621 war for the liberation Texas from Mexico, Charging over the prairie of San Jacinto, in the full blast of a withering Mexicon Are, the Texan frontlersinan sang derisively:

"Will you come to the bower I

have shaded for you?"

spite of a heavy influx of popular songa from the home- land, many British battalions still cling jealously to their regimental marches and country airs. Some of these have played their units around the world and back again.

The Loyal North Lancashire play

"Red Rose" and the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry enjoy the rousing March Of The Cor- nishmen.

The Scots Guards swing along to "Cook o' the North," and the Grenadier Guards to the brave strains of "The British Grenad iera,

The same tune, with typical verse, is o favourite with the USA. Marines.

"From the Halls of Montezuma

to the shores of Tripoli, "We fight our country's battles on the land and on the sea; "And if you ever have the luck to gaze on Heaven's scenes. "You will find the streets di

-quarded-there-by-the-USA; -

Marines." Semetimes, too, they march to of the American Civil the "Dixie War, or "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town To-night."

And here is a fragment of the marching song of the US. 27th Infantry:-

Oh

"Oh, the monkeys have no talls, "They were bitten off by whales,

the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga." Ridiculous, yes; but so it goca on the world over. The wild whoop of the Cherokee

the war

march of the ancient priests.

What age, what tourues has not raised the song, of battle for ilm warriors?

One might even say that the story of this world could be wrliten in the music of the brave.

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can't hear what the crowd wants më: to

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