In Comes the United States

"Over There" Sheet Music Cover Art and MP3: This image has text that reads “Over There” with scrolls on the bottom that read “Words and Music by George M. Cohan” and “Successfully Introduced by Nora Bayes.” It depicts a woman in a red, white, and blue dress uniform with two eagles on either side of her head whose wings have American flags on the back. Between the eagles, the flags, and the colors in the poster, the image is supposed to invoke a sense of patriotism. The song itself is the most iconic to come out of World War 1. The music and lyrics are by George M. Cohan, who wrote the song when the United States first entered the war. It has a very danceable and positive beat, and the lyrics are meant to persuade men to join the military. For example, one line states, “Hear them calling you and me / Every son of liberty.”

On April 6, 1917, the United States enters The Great War. Just as their allies had done, the U.S. used music as a way of stirring up support for the war. Just like with wars previous, the United States believed that it would be relatively short. Many songs written at the beginning of U.S. involvement portray this sentiment, including the now iconic World War 1 song “Over There.”

“Lullaby of War” Sheet Music: This sheet music booklet is for the song “While Your Daddy’s Far Away,” which is one of the many Lullabies of War sung to infants and children during World War 1 to explain what was going on in the world and why their loved ones were not home. This specific song was written by Robert S. Kampman and was distributed to the United States in early May of 1917.

This type of propaganda was used on every race, gender, class, and even age group. Children, some as young as newborn, were taught songs that made them believe the United States being involved in the war was a good thing, even if they were too young to understand what that fully entailed. For example, mothers would sing a “Lullaby of War” to their children to explain where their fathers were and why they needed to be away from home. One of these lullabies specifically states, “He’s a soldier man, a-fighting for his country U.S.A. / So you and I’ll be brave and good while your daddy’s far away.” It later goes on to say “…And he’ll find his boy grown up to be a great big soldier man / Who can take his daddy’s place to fight for his native country-land.” This last line almost contradicts the sentiment of a short war, which in reality is what happened because the United States was a part of World War 1 not for a month or two, but for two years. Though the last line of his particular song is contradictory, these lullabies as a whole eased the minds of children (and their worried mothers) who couldn’t wait to see their soldier dads again.