Origins

At the commencement of the Second World War in September of 1939, America was decidedly uninvolved in the conflict. Despite trading and providing supplies to member countries of the Centrolineal forces, the decision to become direct involved in the war effort would come later in December of 1941. After nearly fifteen months of strained relationships and a twelvemonth of planning on the offensive side, Japan ordered an airstrike on the American isle of Hawaii, at the naval base of Pearl Harbor. This assail shook the nation as citizens were faced with the kickoff foreign assail directly targeting the United States since the First World State of war. As word of the attack spread and reactions began, "We Did Information technology Before And Nosotros Can Do Information technology Again" was penned by pop songwriters Cliff Friend and Charles Tobias. The composition was written the same day as the set on, one of the firsts of its kind during American involvement in the war (Stickles 158). Simply days after, the song hit the radio and the ears of America.

Lyrical Content

"We Did It Before And We Can Do It Again" was written as a directly response to the Pearl Harbor attack. Written in a march-like manner, the song is upbeat, entertaining, and uncomplicated plenty for anyone to think (Bush 125). The dictionary is simple, with minimal syllables per word, and few words per sentence. The repeated chorus, "nosotros did it before and we can do it over again" is an declaration that the United States has triumphed in confront of adversity before, and if involved, they would once more. A trend throughout the song, numerous threats and warnings are given to dissuade enemies from engaging in gainsay with the Us. Lyrics similar "Nosotros'll knock them over and get the guy in the dorsum" and "We'll free the nations that had to kneel and bow their heads to a Nazi heel" play on the intimidation tactic of the song, helping to paint the pic of America as the "top domestic dog" in the war effort. The song did not simply romanticize the war, but inspired anti-Japanese sentiments in a mail service-Pearl-Harbor America. Slurs regarded as highly offensive to today's audience were used in the song like during the claim, "nosotros'll take the 'nip' out of nipponese and hunt them back to their cherry trees". The relationship betwixt Americans and Japanese was riddled with strife, particularly later America began to block immigrants from inbound the country and stopped all exports of oil to Nihon. Afterward Pearl Harbor, the Japanese people were characterized every bit dangerous, untrustworthy individuals; they were discriminated against and often sent to Japanese internment camps throughout the duration of World State of war Ii. In addition to the Japanese, the vocal strikes out at other opponents with  "Nosotros'll put the ax to the Axis quick" and "We'll take the stooge with the jaw of glass and slap him over the brenner pass". The Brenner Pass line is a play on words, referring to a mountain laissez passer in Italy, some other Axis member along with Germany and Japan. The composers utilise this language to infantilize and demean the Centrality powers. A "jaw of glass", a jaw easily cleaved, indicates that the fight, or in this example, the war will exist easily won. And if not, the lyrics reassure, "even though it may take a year or two or ten, we did information technology before – we'll do it over again". Repeated 16 times through the course of the song, the message is unmistakable: although the opponent volition exist different, and the war volition behave a dissimilar name, "We did it before and nosotros can practise information technology once again".

Social Context

The rise of swing and big ring music began in the 1920s, and connected all the way through World War 2. Several prominent musicians, such as Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw were drafted and brought their music to the warfront. At abode, music was often used as an escape or as a source of comfort. These songs tended to embrace hope and optimism. They had unproblematic themes and straightforward titles, a theme that continued in "We Did It Before (And We Tin Do Information technology Once more)".

However, the tone and message of these songs changed in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. After the attack, the publishers in Manhattan's Tin Pan Alley rushed the product of an amazing number of songs so that they were printed days or even hours after the news reached the public. "We did it before" was the first of these songs to exist played on air, only three days later. Because of its early arrival it quickly became one of the starting time pop state of war-themed songs of the second World War in America. Despite the fact that "We Did It Before" is one of many songs revolving around ane consequence, it is much more upbeat and less viciously racist than some of its successors. The assail on Pearl Harbor brought race to the forefront of the public eye in all new means. While anti-German lyrics mainly focused its ridicule solely on Hitler and the Nazis, anti-Japanese sentiment extended to the civilians besides as the military. The characteristically straightforward 1940s titles made a reappearance with songs like "Permit'south Have A Rap at the Japs," "We'll Knock The Japs Correct Into the Laps of The Nazis," and "Nosotros're Going To Detect A Young man Who Is Yellow And Beat Him Ruby-red White And Bluish." While the final two verses of "We Did It Before (And We Can Exercise It Over again)" also contained racial slurs and stereotyping, the overall intent was to remind the people of this country's efforts and to human action equally a unifying forcefulness rather than an accusatory ane. A song recorded past Kate Smith (also in December of '41) serves as a bully parallel to "Nosotros did it before." It's titled: "They Started Somethin' (But Nosotros're Going to Stop Information technology)," foreshadowing the rise in hostilities that would eventually pb to the catastrophic detonation of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and  Nagasaki.

The Source: Physical Characteristics

Photograph by Monica Bello. Front Cover. Friend, Cliff.,Tobias, Charles. 1941.
Photograph past Monica Bello. Front end Encompass. Friend, Cliff.,Tobias, Charles. 1941. "Nosotros did it before : and we tin do it again." New York : M. Witmark & Sons, c1941. Held at the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The Academy of Alabama.

The sheet music embrace shows a depiction of Uncle Sam with his arms raised in a fighting pose, underneath the title and authors of the song. The groundwork is solid red, and Uncle Sam is outlined in blue while wearing red and white clothing. In fact, the only colors on the forepart folio are red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag.  This goes along with the patriotic message of the vocal as a whole, but was probable a practical feature due to the costs and availability of colored inks during the mid- 20th century. Surrounding Uncle Sam are six bluish squares with a large date and script-similar text. The appointment and words indicate  famous American battles where the Us was a victor. For case, the affiche above

Photograph by Monica Bello. Page 1. Friend, Cliff.,Tobias, Charles. 1941.
Photo by Monica Bello. Page one. Friend, Cliff.,Tobias, Charles. 1941. "Nosotros did information technology before : and we tin can do it again." New York : M. Witmark & Sons, c1941. Held at the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama.

Sam's caput reads: "1777, Valley Forge"; a reference to the winter that the continental regular army spent in valley forge Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary State of war. During this wintertime, supplies were so low and conditions were then terrible that literally a quarter of the ground forces died from illness or starvation. Notwithstanding, it was during this time that the troops received the grooming to become a fighting force stiff

enough to defeat the British Army. In brusque, after a fourth dimension of farthermost  hardship, Americans emerged stronger and more unified than always before. This could be a hopeful  allegory for America'due south shift from the Great Low into World State of war II. The other 5 notes go on in this fashion, referencing

Photograph by Monica Bello. Page 2. Friend, Cliff.,Tobias, Charles. 1941.
Photograph by Monica Bello. Page 2. Friend, Cliff.,Tobias, Charles. 1941. "We did it before : and we tin can practice it once again." New York : Grand. Witmark & Sons, c1941. Held at the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama.

other moments of American bravery and victory in the Revolutionary State of war and the War of 1812. Despite these shining examples, information technology'southward worth noting that the time flow of the Ceremonious War is completely omitted. The designers of the cover near probable felt that a reminder of a major partitioning betwixt the American people would be unwelcome and counterproductive to creating a feeling of unity.

The music inside the cover is in skillful  condition. The pages are slightly yellowed but there's no tears or impairment to the paper, and the blackness ink is clearly legible.The only written markings inside are in pencil and for library  cataloging purposes. The music itself has parts for vocalism, guitar, and pianoforte. There are six pages in total, including forepart and back covers, four of them with the actual sheet music. Two actress

Photograph by Monica Bello. Page 4. Friend, Cliff.,Tobias, Charles. 1941.
Photograph by Monica Bello. Page 4. Friend, Cliff.,Tobias, Charles. 1941. "We did it before : and we tin can exercise it over again." New York : Chiliad. Witmark & Sons, c1941. Held at the W.Southward. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama.

verses are printed on the dorsum folio. The margins of each folio are filled with text. On the bottom of the get-go page is copyright information for Witmark & Sons, the publishers. However, the correct margin contains ad for something chosen a "kaleidophone," which continues onto the left margin of page five. The bottom margins of pages  three four and five are taken upwardly by advertisements for other song compilations, one of them for  children, one of them of 'pop songs' and one of them of 'American Patriotic Songs.' It is likely that because "We did it earlier" was such a popular song at the time, information technology

Photograph by Monica Bello. Back Cover. Friend, Cliff.,Tobias, Charles. 1941.
Photograph by Monica Bello. Back Cover. Friend, Cliff.,Tobias, Charles. 1941. "We did it before : and we can do it once again." New York : Thou. Witmark & Sons, c1941. Held at the W.South. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama.

would be assisting for other businesses to utilise this as a kind of piggyback to try and sell like products. This demonstrates how closely tied commercialization and patriotism were at the fourth dimension of this song's publication. Businesses were using the war effort to sell their products while keeping civilian morale high. This too represents the ways  that propaganda could be easily marketed to the youth. If this could be used to advertise "Victor Herberts Pianoforte Albums For the Youth," information technology'south probable that there were several other albums for the youth that advertised songs as patriotic, if not more and so, than this 1.

Works Cited

Friend, Cliff, Charles Tobias, Albert Lewis, Eddie Cantor, Joe Quillan, Irving Elinson, John Cecil Holm, George Abbott, Hassard Short, and Vernon Knuckles. 1941. "We did it before : and we tin can practice it again." n.p.: New York : M. Witmark & Sons, c1941., 1941.

Jones, John Bush. The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music and the Home Front, 1939-1945. Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press, 2006.

Sickels, Robert. The 1940s. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004.

Wells, G. A. "Music every bit War Propaganda." Music Every bit Propaganda In Earth War I. 2004.

Accessed March 06, 2016. http://parlorsongs.com/issues/2004-iv/thismonth/feature.php.

"What Happened at Valley Forge." Ushistory.org. Accessed March 05, 2016.

http://www.ushistory.org/march/phila/valleyforge.htm.

"WWII In American Music: Pearl Harbor & Reaction." WWII In American Music: Pearl

Harbor & Reaction. July 21, 2012. Accessed March 06, 2016.

http://www.authentichistory.com/1939-1945/iii-music/04-PH-Reaction/alphabetize.html.

Monica Bello, Lynelle Freeman, Grace Shim