sang a song they brought …
this tune always reminds me
of these buoyant days …
Winston Churchill wrote a 6 volume auto biography of his time as British Prime Minister during World War 2.
The 2nd volume, Their Finest Hour, covers the year 1940.
The Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic and the war in the deserts of North Africa.
In describing the success of some Australia units fighting in the desert, Mr. Churchill writes:
To complete this episode of desert victory, I shall intrude upon the New Year. The attack opened early on January 3. One Australian battalion, covered by a strong artillery concentration, seized and held a lodgment in the western perimeter. Behind them engineers filled in the anti-tank ditch. Two Australian brigades carried on the attack and swept east and southeastward. They sang at that time a song they had brought with them from Australia which soon spread to Britain.
Reading this, I am sure you might be thinking of some song of Australian origin, Waltzing Matilda or … or … well, when talking about songs of Australian origin, I guess that’s it.
Doesn’t matter because that is not where Mr. Churchill was going.
And I bet if I offered you $100 and 100 guesses you would not come up with the words Mr. Churchill recorded in his book.
“Have you heard of the wonderful wizard,
The wonderful Wizard of Oz,
And he is a wonderful wizard,
If ever a wizard there was.”
So he got the words a little wrong.
I have always heard that the single most influential movie of all time is the Wizard of Oz but this was a new look for me.
Mr. Churchill then goes on to say, “This tune always reminds me of these buoyant days. By the afternoon of the 4th, British tanks “Matildas” as they were named—supported by infantry, entered Bardia, and by the 5th all the defenders had surrendered. Forty-five thousand prisoners and 462 guns were taken.“
From what I read, Mr. Churchill ‘wrote’ by dictating to stenographers as he figured out passages of prose.
Also, from what I have read, he like to have an audience as he dictated as it gave him more of a feel for an audience.
Also, he liked to work late at night in his library.
So the scene that comes to mind is the image of Winston Churchill, cigar in hand, singing “We’re of to see the Wizard … The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” as he replays in his mind, the story of World War 2.
Now think of all the songs of World War 2.
Think what songs brought back memories.
For Mr. Churchill?
As he write, “This tune always reminds me of these buoyant days.”
No Haiku For You 