V.A. - That´s Why we Were Marching - World War II and the American Folk Song Movement (1996)

Fifteen of the 25 tracks on this 71-minute disc are previously unreleased and the rest are not easily available. That's no reflection on their quality, but it is a clue to their limited typicality: these are songs written and recorded in the first half of the 1940s in response to world events before and during World War II; after the war, they dated fast. In fact, some of them became obsolete even before the U.S. entered the war. The earliest songs are three tracks by the Almanac Singers (who included Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and others) from the spring of 1941 decrying the actions of the Franklin Roosevelt Administration that inclined the country toward the war. When the songs were recorded, they expressed a commonly held sentiment. But only a couple of months later, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the singers themselves repudiated their sentiments, and another six months later, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they seemed positively treasonous. The rest of the album's songs are patriotic, pro-war expressions of the need to overcome Hitler and win the war. But even amid such mainstream sentiments, the left-wing folksingers slip in lyrics in support of unions and civil rights, more long-standing views for them. They also find space to praise U.S. ally the Soviet Union in songs that became politically unacceptable after the war. Fifty years later, of course, all of this makes for a musical, historical curiosity, and a listener's primary interest is likely to be the opportunity to hear previously unissued music by Guthrie, Seeger, Leadbelly, Josh White, Burl Ives, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and a host of other excellent folksingers.

Few people have heard these songs composed and sung from 1940 to 1945 by artists primarily known for their influence on American folk music after 1945. Both the protest songs and the pro-war songs are assembled for the first time in this historic compilation; they present the conflicts, the hopes, and the way songs were used to raise morale during World War II. 

"A great slice of history...also a great musical performance." -- Daily News


Trackslist

1. Freedom Road Josh White 2:20
2. Talking Sailor (Talking Merchant Marine) - Woody Guthrie 3:03
3. The Ballad of October 16 - The Almanac Singers 2:49
4. Billy Boy - The Almanac Singers 2:23
5. Plow Under - The Almanac Singers 2:27
6. I'm Gonna Put My Name Down - Tom Glazer 3:04
7. What are We Waiting On? - Woody Guthrie 2:09
8. Citizen C.I.O. - The Union Boys 2:31
9. The Sinking of the Reuben James - Woody Guthrie And Cisco Houston 3:01
10. You Better Get Ready - The Union Boys 2:32
11. If You Want to Do Your Part - Lead Belly 2:56
12. Move Into Germany - The Union Boys 3:00
13. So Long, It's Been Good to Know You (War Version) - Woody Guthrie And Cisco Houston 2:47
14. The Martins and the Coys - The Union Boys 3:01
15. Hitler Song Lead Belly 4:34
16. Sally Don't You Grieve - Woody Guthrie And Cisco Houston 2:25
17. Jimmy Longhi Story Vincent "Jimmy" - Longhi 6:05
18. When the Yanks Go Marching In - Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, And Sonny Terry 2:46
19. Round and Round Hitler's Grave - The Almanac Singers 1:10
20. Fuhrer - Josh White 3:10
21. Miss Pavlichenko - Woody Guthrie 2:30
22. National Defense Blues - Lead Belly, Sonny Terry, And Brownie McGhee 3:14
23. Gee, But I Want to Go Home (Army Life) - Lead Belly 1:47
24. Looking for a Home - Pete Seeger 3:10
25. Now That's It's All Over (He'll Go Back to Selling Shoes) - Pete Seeger 2:09

VA - That´s Why we Were Marching - World War II and the American Folk Song Movement (1996)

(320 kbps, cover art included)