http://www.6thcorpsmusic.us/
I just came across this website. It has a bunch of songs that were played during WWII. I listened to a few of them and I wanted to highlight one song in particular. It's called Pearl Harbor Blues by Peter "Doctor" Clayton. Here are some of the lyrics:
"Yes the Japanese is ungrateful, just like a stray dog on the street. Well he bite the hand that feeds 'm, soon as he get enough to feed."
Unfortunately, this was not the only song to have prejudicial slurs written into the lyrics. In fact, it was extremely common in many songs during the WWII era. People wanted vindication after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Songs like this created a sense of nationalism and reminded the American people and the American forces what they were fighting for. Music at the time was also used to attract enemies to propaganda programs (or so wikipedia says). Along with this class, I am taking a Music In Film class. It's very interesting to see how the arts played a role into WWII. Beethoven and Wagner were some of the few approved musicians in Germany. Erich Wolfgang Korngold, one of the most praised composers in the history of the entertainment industry, was highly frowned upon in Germany (mostly for his association with a Jewish family member). This censorship stirred up ethnic hatred among the Germans. In fact, several countries in the war used film and music to evoke a sense of hatred for the opposing sides. People were easily influenced with propaganda messages form radio and sound films simply because of how new the technology was. I mean, if you're only medium of news about the war came from a talking box you'd believe every word it said right?
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