Safe and Sound

There was a one song which we children sang during World War I, in addition to the choruses which the troops marched to, such as “Tipperary”, “Pack up your troubles”, “Long, long trail”, Madamoiselle from Armentieres” and many others; our speciality went as follows to the tune of "Pretty Red Wing”,

"When the moon shines bright on Charlie Chaplin,
His boots are cracking
For the want of blacking,
And his little baggy trousers they want mending
Before they send him to the Dardanelles.”

"I was up at 3:45am this morning for the famous May Morning ceremony ... as the clock struck four all the people turned towards the tower & became absolutely silent. Then immediately after, as the sun was rising, the choristers on the top of Magdalen tower sang the May Morning Latin hymn, turning towards the sun ... I could quite easily have wept at the beauty & pain of it. I couldn't help thinking how different everything is from what we pictured it would be, & how you had meant to be here, & how you would have loved it if you had been..."

"That first time, when I finished singing "St. Louis Blues," the money fell like rain on the stage. Nugent had to come on again to get me off or I would have been sitting there yet. But first he picked up the silver for me--the white money, as it sometimes is respectfully called.

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