Veteran’s Day is coming up and I thought I might have an image that somewhat represents the experience of some vets on their return home. In the 1946 movie, The Best Years of Our Lives, Dana Andrews‘ character, Fred, struggles on his return to his hometown and comes across a local airfield where they are junking old war planes from the recently ended World War II. He crawls into an old B-17 bomber and takes his former seat in the front turret of the plane where he was a nose gunner. He vividly relives for a brief moment the terror that was still haunting him, tainting every moment of his life. The haunting image of Andrews appearing ghost-like in the nose of that B-17 is a powerful one in a movie filled with powerful scenes, one that doesn’t sugarcoat the experiences and hardships of the returning vets. It remains relevant to this very day.
I thought for this Sunday’s musical interlude, I would play something in the spirit of this upcoming holiday. It would be easy enough to play something patriotic but this isn’t really a holiday of nationalism and a call to arms. No, this is a holiday that celebrates an end to war , namely World War I when the holiday was originated as Armistice Day, and honors the service of all soldiers with the hope that they will soon return home and resume their lives there. This holiday honors those who have served and sacrificed so much, not the wars to which they are sent.
The song is Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya which is the original tune on which the Civil War era song When Johnny Comes Marching Home is based. While When Johnny Comes Marching Home is more celebratory and martial in tone, Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya is pointedly anti-war and mournful. It was supposedly written in the 1790′s as a protest to the British imperialist invasion of Ceylon, present day Sri Lanka. It tells of a young woman seeing her lover , who left her after their illegitimate child was born to join the army, returning from war. He is much changed in appearance and she mourns for his loss.
This is a very emotional version of the song from British opera and folk singer Benjamin Luxon accompanied by American Bill Crofut on banjo. Have a great Sunday and gives some thought to the men and women who have given their time and their selves to serving their countries. Let’s vow to treat them better.
Redtree Times 