ReSounding the Archives

A War of Words: Music and the American Journey to the Western Front

Imagine: you just turned 18. You are newly graduated from high school and unsure of your future. For now, college has been put on hold. Your parents are split on an issue very salient at the time: your dad wants the U.S. to fight in Europe with the allies, but your Mom, like many women at the time, thinks that America should stay neutral. While perusing some stores after dinner in town one evening, you spot a score of sheet music through a shop window. Its cover is simple yet provocative: a young woman graces the front, bidding farewell to a ship destined for Europe. You go in and take a further look. Upon hearing the piece played by a friend, you make up your mind and decide to enlist in the Army.

“Old Glory: A Song of Preparedness” by Edwin Skedden captures the United States on the brink of joining the Allies in War War I and serves to physically and psychologically mobilize the masses to join the war effort. The lyrics, “Ready to defend her rights,” suggest that joining the allied war effort would entail defending the values that America holds, a premise which also seems to suggest cowardice if someone chose not to undertake such a challenge. Further lyrics such as, “We’d sooner die than see the day Old Glory called in vain,” assumes the passions of men in the United States and foretells their actions on the front lines. Finally, “Every man for Uncle Sam, will fight unto the end,” means that once a man does go to the war, he will do whatever it takes to make Uncle Sam and his country proud. It’s almost as if these lyrics complete a circle, a circle that starts from preparedness (“Ready to defend her rights”) and ends with fighting until death once on the battlefield (“will fight unto the end”). Clearly, even if a connection wasn’t intended to be made by the composer, the song’s rejection of Wilson’s doctrine of isolationism clearly depicts Skedden’s own stance and certainly many other Americans. He chooses to illustrate this idea, with the help of his publisher, Carl Morton Pierce, through concise yet poignant lyrics, no advertisement of other works, and careful hand-drawn cover illustrations. Skedden chooses to leave the interpreter with little to ponder; he knew exactly what he had to do to get his message across. Ultimately, Skedden’s message and many others like it pushed the United States to the brink of war.

Related Resources

Bryan, Alfred, and Al. Plantadosi. "I Didn’t Raise My Boy to be A Soldier." New York: Leo. Feist, 1915.

Daughtry, Martin J. “Section 1: Sonic Materiel; Belliphonic Sounds and Indoctrinated Ears: The Elements of Wartime Audition.” In Listening to War: Sound, Music, Trauma, and Survival in Wartime Iraq. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Eksteins, Modris. “The Cultural Legacy of the Great War.” In The Great War and the Twentieth Century, edited by Jay Winter, Geoffrey Parker, and Mary R. Habeck, 331-350. New Haven: Yale University, 2000.

Essex, Tony, and Gordon Watkins. The Great War. Documentary. Directed by John Terraine and Corelli Barnett. London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1964.

Kennedy, Kate. “World War One and Classical Music.” Published January 29, 2014. Accessed March 31, 2018. https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/classical-music.

Murdoch, Brian. “When This Bleeding War is Over: Songs of the First World War.” In Fighting Songs and Warring Words: Popular Lyrics of Two World Wars. Oxfordshire: Taylor and Francis, 1990.

Pike, Katherine, and Edwin Skedden. "Old Glory: A Song of Preparedness." New York: Carl Horton Pierce, 1916.

Watkins, Glenn. Proof Through the Night: Music and the Great War. Oakland: University of California Press, 2002.

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Andrew Holmes is a student researcher in Professor Ozment’s ReSounding the Archives class. He is from Cleveland, Ohio and is pursuing majors in Music and Government. While he has family in Charlottesville, he is proud to be part of the out-of-state UVA community. He is excited to share his research that he has compiled from the University’s amazing resources.