When the War Was On
"When the War Was On" | |
---|---|
Single by Blind Willie Johnson | |
Released | 1929 (1929) |
Recorded | December 11, 1929, New Orleans, Louisiana |
Genre | Gospel blues |
Length | 3:04 |
Label | Columbia |
Songwriter(s) | Unknown |
"When the War Was On" is a call and response blues song recorded in 1929 by Blind Willie Johnson and Willis B. Harris, who is thought to have been his first wife.[1] Johnson plays bottleneck guitar, and sings throughout in his "growl" (false bass) voice; Harris sings soprano.
Lyrics
The war referred to is World War I (1914–18). The lyrics reference U.S. President Wilson (1913–21) and the German Kaiser; the U.S. entered the war in 1917.
Unusually for Johnson, the song deals with a temporal rather than a spiritual subject. It shares tune and lyrics with "Everybody Help the Boys Come Home" (1927) by William and Versey Smith, husband and wife. The other side of that record by the Smiths is "When That Great Ship Went Down", which relates to the sinking of RMS Titanic. Johnson recorded his only other song on a temporal subject, "God Moves on the Water" (about the Titanic disaster), on the same day as he recorded "When the War Was On". It therefore seems likely that he knew that record.
References
- ^ Charters, Samuel (1993). The Complete Blind Willie Johnson (CD booklet). Blind Willie Johnson. New York City: Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings. C2K 52835.
- v
- t
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78 rpm records
- "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed" / "I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole"
- "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" / "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine"
- "Mother's Children Have a Hard Time" / "If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down"
- "I'm Gonna Run to the City of Refuge"
- "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" / "Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying"
- "God Don't Never Change" / "Let Your Light Shine on Me"
- "Bye and Bye I'm Goin' to See the King" / "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond"
- "God Moves on the Water" / "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There"
- "John the Revelator" / "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond"
- "The Rain Don't Fall on Me" / "Trouble Will Soon Be Over"
- "Praise God I'm Satisfied" / "When the War Was On"
- "Can't Nobody Hide from God" / "If It Had Not Been For Jesus"
- "The Soul of a Man" / "Church, I'm Fully Saved To-Day"
- "Go with Me to That Land" / "Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right"
- "Take Your Stand" / "Sweeter as the Years Roll By"
- The Complete Blind Willie Johnson (1993)
- The Soul of a Man (2003)
- American Epic: The Best of Blind Willie Johnson (2017)