The second installment of World War Two poems written by soldiers drives home an interesting point - music, particularly jazz music, was a huge part of their lives. The poems below are parodies of well-known tunes, including "As Time Goes By", which we'll play tonight, a blues, and "Thanks For The Memories." The last one is an original song written by a POW.
As Flak Goes By - Author unknown
You must remember this
That flak don't always miss
And one of you may die.
The fundamental thing applies
As flak goes by---
And When the fighters come
You hope you're not the one
To tumble from the sky
The odds are always too damned high
As flak goes by---
110's and 210's knocking at your gate
Come on you jokers, come on kill that rate
And should a bomb hang, salvo don't wait
The targets passing by---
It's still the same old story
A tale that's too damned gory
Some brave men have to die
The odds are always high
As flak goes by.
Fortress Blues
Why did I join the Air Corps?
Mother, dear Mother, knew best.
Here I lie 'neath the wreckage,
A Fortress all over my chest.
If you ever lose an engine,
And you don't know which way to turn,
Just reach right up on the dashboard,
Push the button marked spin, crash and burn!
The Fort is a very fine airplane
Constructed of rivets and tin,
With a top speed of over 100,
The ship with a headwind built in.
If you ever run into ack-ack,
Or a Messerschmidt makes a good pass,
Just pick up your chute and start walking;
To hell with the crew, let 'em crash.
Why did I join the Air Corps?
Mother, dear Mother, knew best.
Here I lie 'neath the wreckage,
A Fortress all over my chest.
Thanks for the Memory - Author unknown
Thanks for the memories, of flights to Germany
Across the Northern Sea, with blazing guns
We fought the Hun, for air supremacy.
How lucky we were!
Thanks for the memories, of Me-109's
And Flak guns on the Rhine
They did their bit and we were hit
So ended our good times...we miss them so much!
We drifted far out of formation
We jumped-and what a sensation
And now we sweat out the duration
Our job is done, we had our fun.
So thanks for the memory
Of days we had to stay, at Stalag Luft 1A
The cabbage stew which had to do
Till Red Cross Parcels came
How thankful we were.
So thanks for the memory
When "D" Day came along
We changed our marching song
From "Forever and a Day" to "War ain't Here to Stay"
We thank God for that!
LOW IS THE SUN by John Lashly
Days have their worries
Nights have their furies
But in between times it's dull.
I hate to seem alone
So hate to dream alone
Evenings bring such a lull, so –
Low is the sun as slowly it leaves the sky,
Low is the moon as night draws nigh,
So is my heart whenever the day is through
Once a day, every day, evenings bring thoughts of you
Each long shadow whispers -
You must be lonely too
But my heart keeps saying
“Don’t go back, your through”, so –
When in dusk I sit around just for fun
Its to think of you, only, lonely, when low in the sun.