4. A Bob a Bloody Day Words: Paul Clark and J Cunningham; Music: Paul Clark
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This song was created in 1981 for the original run of Days of Pride, Living Archive’s musical community documentary drama based on 1st World War material which included the reminiscences of New Bradwell resident Hawtin Mundy. It shows how soldiers had quickly lost their initial fervour for going to war. As Hawtin himself said:
‘You was full of beans, you wanted to see the war, you wanted to get to it, you volunteered for it… Well, once you got in those trenches, and you had a battering of machine-gun and shell fire, you altered your tune a little bit then, you realised what war was like.’ The song’s ironic jauntiness goes further and shows how resentment can be fuelled by unfairness and selfishness. The ordinary soldier’s hardship in the trenches was rewarded by somewhat imbalanced rates of pay – ‘those in greatest danger have the least’. He was paid one shilling – ‘a bob’ - a day when a sergeant was paid up to three times more, and a Lieutenant-Colonel up to 30 times more. Such privation was exacerbated by those at home who were profiteering - ‘safe as houses’ - while ‘British lads are bleeding…’ The Wolverton Express recorded such bitterness in 1916: Private JFJ Griffiths and seven other serving soldiers from Wolverton signed the following letter: ‘We have had brought to our notice a sarcastic letter from a writer in the Wolverton Express who signs himself THW. With regard to the manufacture of munitions, there would have been no need for the extra work if THW and others like him had come forward at the right time when men were urgently wanted; but we can understand the view of a man in a letter like that. THW takes from the situation namely that he can best serve his country and himself by hanging back until there is a shortage of men, to hide himself as before-said under the manufacture of munitions plea and incidentally take £3.00 or £4.00 a week with overtime in comfort, ease and safety while his pals to whom he addresses this sarcastic letter are risking their lives out here on the front firing line for a shilling a day.’ The songwriters, J Cunningham and Paul Clark were key composers for the Stantonbury musical documentary dramas from 1977-83 creating over 20 new songs apiece, some of them in partnership. The melody of this one comes from the chorus of Paul’s classic song No Heroes No Cowards[1], where the underlying theme refutes the notion of a soldier’s instinctive heroism: How about you folk out there, you people looking on? Are you heroes? Are you cowards? Could you say? If they stuck a rifle in your hands and marched you to a trench, Would you be brave, or would you run the other way? Both songs can be heard on A Bob a Bloody Day, an album from The Living Archive Band [1] See the ‘Wartime’ section in The Milton Keynes Song Book (Volume 1): No Heroes No Cowards - THE MILTON KEYNES SONG BOOK |
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