Sounds of World War 1

Music, Memory, and the Canadian Home Front, 1914–1918

During the First World War, music became an indispensable part of life in Canada—rallying communities, shaping public opinion, and offering comfort amid loss. Whether sung around parlor pianos, performed at recruitment drives, or published as sheet music in downtown Toronto, popular wartime songs helped Canadians make emotional and ideological sense of the Great War.

Unlike in Europe, where soldiers’ trench songs and orchestral laments dominated the musical legacy, Canadian wartime music was shaped largely on the home front. The majority of these songs were published between 1914 and 1918 by small and mid-sized Canadian music houses, such as Whaley, Royce & Co., Thompson Publishing, and Morris Manley, and targeted Anglo-Canadian audiences. These were not concert hall works—they were accessible, catchy, and explicitly designed for mass appeal.

🇨🇦 Imperial Loyalty and Recruitment
In the early war years, music reinforced Canada’s colonial ties to Britain. Songs like “Good Luck to the Boys of the Allies” (Morris Manley, 1915) and “We’ll Never Let the Old Flag Fall” celebrated enlistment and framed military service as a duty to the King and Empire. Martial rhythms, bugle flourishes, and direct lyrical appeals to “Johnnie Canuck” created rousing calls-to-action. Patriotic music became a staple of recruiting events and fundraising concerts, used to stir public emotion and affirm national resolve.

One of the most frequently referenced songs of this period was “The Maple Leaf Forever,” a 19th-century composition by Alexander Muir that regained popularity during WWI. Though not composed for the war, its loyalist lyrics made it a recurring anthem at pro-Empire gatherings.

🌾 Canadian Identity Emerges
By 1916, Canadian patriotism began to shift away from British imagery toward a more autonomous national narrative. This evolution was echoed in songs like “I Love You, Canada” (Manley & McInnis), which emphasized the vastness and unity of Canada from coast to coast. Sheet music covers began to feature maple leaves, Mounties, and landscapes, subtly replacing the Union Jack with distinctly Canadian symbols.

At the same time, the Battle of Vimy Ridge (1917) and Canada's growing international stature contributed to this transformation. Composers and publishers tapped into a public yearning for a uniquely Canadian sense of sacrifice and pride, with songs that spoke not just of loyalty to Britain, but to Canada itself.

👩‍🦰 Gender Roles and Wartime Song
Much of Canadian wartime music addressed—or imposed—roles on women. Songs like “I’ll Be Waiting at the Door” or “Mother, Here’s My Boy” cast women as patient supporters and moral anchors of the nation. The typical message: men fought, women waited.

However, not all songs followed this script. The bold 1916 composition “Why Can’t a Girl Be a Soldier?” by Lindsay Perrin questioned the exclusion of women from combat, asking why they couldn't "carry a gun good as any mother’s son." While clearly still constrained by traditional gender expectations, it hinted at early shifts in women’s roles that would accelerate in the decades to come.

🎶 Everyday Life and Emotional Relief
Many wartime songs were less political and more personal. Love ballads, farewell songs, and longing laments—such as “Keep the Home Fires Burning” and “Till the Boys Come Home”—were widely sung in drawing rooms and at public events. These tunes offered comfort in the face of separation, and gave voice to the private emotional toll of the war.

Community concerts, vaudeville stages, Red Cross drives, and school assemblies all featured live performances of wartime songs, helping to bind communities together in grief, hope, and collective effort.

🗂️ Legacy and Rediscovery
Though many of these songs faded from public memory after the war, their influence endured. The symbolic imagery, gendered language, and imperial loyalty expressed in these works would help shape Canadian music and identity into the interwar years. Today, efforts by historians and archivists—including the digitization of 78 RPM records and sheet music at institutions like Library and Archives Canada, WartimeCanada.ca, and the Canadian Museum of History—have made this music available once again.

The Sounds of World War 1 playlist on CitizenFreak.com offers a curated glimpse into this rich period of Canadian cultural history. Tracks range from proud marches and tearful ballads to songs that challenged societal expectations, reflecting the full spectrum of Canadian life during the Great War.
-Robert Williston

Tracks

Artist Track Title
Victor Military Band The Maple Leaf Forever (Canadian Patriotic Song) (Alexander Muir) The Maple Leaf Forever (Canadian Patriotic Song) // O Canada (Patriotic Air)
Victor Military Band O Canada (Patriotic Air) The Maple Leaf Forever (Canadian Patriotic Song) // O Canada (Patriotic Air)
MacFarlane, George When You Come Back And You Will Come Back When You Come Back And You Will Come Back // What a Wonderful Message From Home
Macdonough, Harry Just Before The Battle, Mother (George F. Root) Just Before The Battle, Mother (with Bieling)
Band of H.M. Canadian Grenadier Guards, Cond by Capt. J.J. Gagnier Jock O' York: Regimental march of les Fusilliers Mont-Royal Vive La Canadienne: Regimental March of the Royal 22nd Regiment
Band of H.M. Canadian Grenadier Guards, Cond by Capt. J.J. Gagnier Vive La Canadienne Vive La Canadienne: Regimental March of the Royal 22nd Regiment
Phillips, Joseph* Joseph Phillips - In Flanders Fields the Poppies Grow In Flanders Fields The Poppies Grow // Good-Bye
Burr, Henry (Harry Haley McClaskey) Life in a Trench In Belgium (Part 4) Fun In Flanders (with Lieut. Gitz Rice)
Burr, Henry (Harry Haley McClaskey) Life In A Trench In Belgium (Fun In Flanders) (Part 3) Fun In Flanders (with Lieut. Gitz Rice)
Stuart, Herbert I Love You Canada I Love You Canada // Somewhere In France
Stuart, Herbert Herbert Stuart - The Soldiers of the King Highlanders! Fix Bayonets! // The Soldiers of the King
Stuart, Herbert Edward Hamilton - Highlanders! Fix Bayonets! Highlanders! Fix Bayonets! // The Soldiers of the King
Compilation Captain Plunkett's Dumbells Revue of 1922, Red Newman, vocalist - I'm A Daddy (HMV 216363) (1922) We're From Canada Volume 1
Compilation Harry Thomas Trio - Put Away A Little Ray Of Sunshine For A Rainy Day (Victor 216475) (1915-1916) We're From Canada Volume 1
Compilation Peerless Quartette, Henry Burr, lead vocalist - Over There (Columbia A 2306) (1917) We're From Canada Volume 1
Dumbells O-O-O-Ozone The Original Dumbells
Dumbells My Old Dutch The Original Dumbells
Dumbells Medals on my Chest The Original Dumbells
Dumbells And Her Mother Came Too The Original Dumbells
Dumbells Good-bye Broadway, Hello Montreal The Original Dumbells
Dumbells Oh it’s a Lovely War The Original Dumbells
Dumbells Yum-Yum-Yum-Yum The Original Dumbells
Dumbells Canada for Canadians The Original Dumbells
Burr, Henry (Harry Haley McClaskey) Our Hearts Go Out To You Canada Our Hearts Go Out To You Canada // Good Bye Mother Dear
Peerless Quartette The Battle in the Air The Submarine Attack Somewhere at Sea // The Battle in the Air
Peerless Quartette The Submarine Attack Somewhere at Sea The Submarine Attack Somewhere at Sea // The Battle in the Air
Burr, Henry (Harry Haley McClaskey) Lieutenant Gitz Rice of 1st Canadians and Henry Burr - Life in a Trench in Belgium No. 2 Life in a Trench in Belgium (Lieutenant Gitz Rice of 1st Canadians and Henry Burr)
Burr, Henry (Harry Haley McClaskey) Lieutenant Gitz Rice of 1st Canadians and Henry Burr - Life in a Trench in Belgium No. 1 Life in a Trench in Belgium (Lieutenant Gitz Rice of 1st Canadians and Henry Burr)
Plunkett, Albert It's Canada (The Land For Me) Oh Gee! Oh Gosh! Oh Golly! I'm In Love // It's Canada (The Land For Me)
Compilation Henry Burr And Katherine Clark - Hello My Soldier Boy, A Wireless Novelty (1917) Hold On To Your Hat!
Compilation Harry McClaskey With Lieut. Gitz Rice - Will Your Anchor Hold (1914) Hold On To Your Hat!
Stuart, Herbert We'll Never Let the Old Flag Fall We'll Never Let the Old Flag Fall // Good Luck to the Boys of the Allies
Stuart, Herbert Good Luck to the Boys of the Allies We'll Never Let the Old Flag Fall // Good Luck to the Boys of the Allies
Desjardins, Richard Vimy Vimy
Compilation God Save the Queen (England) Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation Hymne Cherifien (Morocco) Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation Das Lied Der Deutschen (Germany) Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation La Marsellaise (France) Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation O Canada (Canada) Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation O God Our Help in Ages Past Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation I'm Dreaming of Home Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation The Metis Prayer Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation When You Wore a Tulip Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation Pipe Drum Patterns Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation Vimy Ridge Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation Pipe Medley Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation Goodbye Dolly Gray Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation Vimy Medley Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation Nimrod (from 'Enigma Variation') Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Compilation Vimy Ridge Fanfare Vimy: Hommage au patrimoine - Honour The Legacy
Service, Robert W When the piper plays 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W Afternoon tea 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W My bay' nit 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W Young fellow my lad 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W The odyssey of 'Erbert 'Iggins 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W The volunteer 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W The coward 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W The whistle of Sandy McGraw 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W The ballad of Soulful Sam 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W A Pot of tea 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W Only a boche 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W Cocotte 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W My mate 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Service, Robert W The Fool 1st World War Poems by Robert Service
Stoker Brothers Flanders Fields Flanders Fields b/w Poppy Joe
Stoker Brothers Poppy Joe Flanders Fields b/w Poppy Joe
Happy Gang Intro Knock, Knock Who's There?…It's the Happy Gang!
Happy Gang I Want to be Happy Knock, Knock Who's There?…It's the Happy Gang!
Happy Gang Clair de Lun Knock, Knock Who's There?…It's the Happy Gang!
Happy Gang Shut the Door Knock, Knock Who's There?…It's the Happy Gang!
Compilation Harry Thomas - Delirious Rag (1916) Jazz and Hot Dance in Canada: 1916-1949

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