Postwar songs with WW2 references.

Spear of Destiny- Mickey.

WW1 WW2 Ireland and the Falklands mentioned in this cracking little song.

 

Saxon - Broken Heroes

 

A bit oblique, but a song by the Canadian band The Tragically Hip has a chorus which refers to a "fifty mission cap" which I gather was an American practice esp in 8th Air Force. The verses are about a hockey player that went missing.

 

Dick Jonas does a lot of songs that reference WWII, like "Marauder."

 

I'm rather surprised that no one's posted this one before. I'm sure you're all familiar with Sir Paul.

 

Tenuous? Maybe (it's the backing singers folks).

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

For me, this version from '55, is a long long way from being the best recording of the song, but it is ear wormery of the highest order!

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

For me, the U.S. Army Chorus version is the version to listen to.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Here are some more, which may lower the tone of this thread.
Sabaton Bismarck.

and politically incorrectly
Neo Nazi rock band Landser

Even without subtitles it is possible to follow this hymn to the defeat of Poland in 1939

And Grandad was a RSM in the SS says it all..

OK I'll get my coat...

 

A slightly different perspective. As far as I can see, in Finland, after the war, war was not discussed in music, but more so in literature and partly in films. Traditionally, Finnish popular songs are often in minor keys, and the fates of refugees (evakot) were discussed in some songs. About 420,000 people lost their homes or farms due to border changes following the Winter and Continuation Wars. The number meant about 11% of the entire population, the lost land areas were probably about 13% of the 1939 area. At worst, in border villages and farms close to the border, you had to leave with 15 minutes' notice. The time to prepare to leave for the areas that were only lost during the peace process was two to three days. Even then, the amount of goods allowed to be taken with was limited, because there was a dire shortage of transport means, the troops with their equipment retreated to the new border at the same time. Production animals that could be brought along could be taken, but pets such as cats and dogs had to be left behind. The following song is probably the most famous of these evakko-songs.

 

A Soviet war song by Vysotsky

 

Some very subtle, easy-to-miss references to WW2 on this record:

 

Including the title?

 

Glad to have found this thread. Resuming my research into World War 2 Poetry, and take the view that song lyrics can come into this remit.
Emerson Lake and Palmer's Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman from their 1978 'Love Beach' album is a 20 minute Prog epic story set in World War 2.
Personally wouldn't count the lyrics as poetry.

 

Anarchy peace punks Crass 'Nagasaki Nightmare' from 1981.
Part avante garde /part punky thrash . Arguably just as much as protest against the contemporary arms race, as a condemnation of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings.

 

I am trying to think of musicals with a World War 2 connection without doing a websearch. 'Cabaret' is more about the Wiemar Republic, 'The Sound of Music' is arguably pre-War.
The Dutch musical 'Soldaat Van Oranje' ( 'Soldier of Orange') is centred directly around the invasion and occupation of the Netherlands, and has become extremely popular there since first performed in 2010. The show is too complex to tour so the audience have to travel to an air base to watch it..An English language version was going to be staged in London but halted due to the Covid epidemic.
Originally an autobiography by Erik Hazelfhoff- Roeflzema ,which inspired a film directed by Paul Verhoeven in 1977. In 1979 a Dutch TV series emerged from the film edits.
An English language version of the film appeared under the name 'Survival Run' also in 1977.
Found a song from the musical with English subtitles. 'Als Wij Doe Niet' ('If We Do Nothing') : A special show to commemorate 12 and half years of performances. Quite like the way the song deals with the shock of invasion.

 

♫Sink the Bismarck♫ by Johnny Horton.

♫...With guns as big as steers, and shells as big as trees♫

Don't blame me, I was just a kid when it came out.

 

That one starts out badly

♫In May of 1941
the war had just begun.
The Germans had biggest ships,
They had the biggest guns.

And so on.

 

Dogface Soldier was the song of the 3rd Infantry Division and the tune/lyrics were pre-1945. See page 575 of the divisional history for the lyrics.

Does Springtime For Hitler from the Mel Brooks' flick, The Producers, count?

 

In some strange universe, yes. Roll with it.