# War theme classical songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 7, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152 "2005-04-07T03:02:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aquafina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/50afbb/32.png) [@Aquafina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquafina)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/1 "2005-04-07T03:02:30Z")
I am doing a presentation about World War II and I’d like to have some background musics. Could anyone suggest me some songs that I could use. It doesn’t need to be stricly war theme, as long as it sounds “right”, then it works Thanks in advance ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/2 "2005-04-07T03:05:15Z")
Richard Rodgers’ **Victory at Sea** is wonderful WWII music. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/3 "2005-04-07T03:17:29Z")
_Mars_ from Gustav Holst’s _The Planets_. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/4 "2005-04-07T11:36:14Z")
Lizst’s **Les Preludes** has that authentic sweeping-past-Polish-monastries-at-the-head-of-an-armoured-column feel: I’ve actually heard it soundtracking German WW2 newsreels {as well as the original **Flash Gordon** movie serials}. ---
**Author:** ![NutMagnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@NutMagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutMagnet)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/5 "2005-04-07T12:06:45Z")
I don’t know if you’re only looking for “military” type music, but there’s also the pop music of the time. _Over There_ _Lili Marlene_ Music & lyrics in German and English here : [http://www.openface.ca/~dstephen/marlene.htm](http://www.openface.ca/~dstephen/marlene.htm) _We’ll Meet Again_ Music and lyrics: [http://www.openface.ca/~dstephen/wemeet.htm](http://www.openface.ca/~dstephen/wemeet.htm) _Till We Meet Again_ [http://www.openface.ca/~dstephen/tillmeet.htm](http://www.openface.ca/~dstephen/tillmeet.htm) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/6 "2005-04-07T14:02:16Z")
Two pieces directly relating to the war, which may be useful to counteract the militaristic music: Messiaen’s _Quartet for the End of Time_ (written while he was in a PoW camp - try the last movement), and Gorecki’s third symphony (settings of holocaust-related texts, and not-uncommon fare for documentary soundtracks). Come to think of it, his second symphony has some fairly suitable sections, too - and is also a neglected masterpiece, IMO. For general ‘marching’ type sounds, without the obviousness of Holst, I’d suggest the opening of Mahler’s second symphony. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/7 "2005-04-07T15:01:22Z")
Rodger’s **Victory at Sea** was the first thing that came to my mind, too. If it doesn’t have to be from the period, you’d have a hard time missing by including Jerry Goldsmith’s theme from **Patton**. ---
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/8 "2005-04-07T16:57:01Z")
If you’re looking for stricktly “backgroundy” stuff, then stick with instrumental music. But if you want the occasional song or piece of vocal music, you might try: Charles Ives’ song, “He is there!” Excerpts from Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem (some of it based on poems of a WWI soldier) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/9 "2005-04-07T16:59:56Z")
> [@Figaro](#): > > Excerpts from Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem (some of it based on poems of a WWI soldier) Good suggestion - his earlier _Sinfonia da Requiem_ could also be appropriate, and has the advantage of being instrumental. ---
**Author:** ![Aquafina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/50afbb/32.png) [@Aquafina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquafina)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/10 "2005-04-07T17:03:33Z")
Wow, you guys are very helpful. I am glad I paid the subcription 🆒. And yes, I want instrumental songs since it will work as background music. Something slow but still reflects the emotion. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/11 "2005-04-07T17:04:23Z")
You should consider Beethoven’s 5th (D-day music), Dambusters theme, 633 squadron theme, and William Walton’s Spitfire Prelude and Fugue. For vocals, anything with Dame Vera Lynn, especially “We’ll meet again.” ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/12 "2005-04-07T17:06:59Z")
Oh, how could we all forget! Shostakovich’s seventh symphony, (partly) written in beseiged Leningrad, and which became a tool of Allied propaganda. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/13 "2005-04-07T17:16:24Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Oh, how could we all forget! Shostakovich’s seventh symphony, (partly) written in beseiged Leningrad, and which became a tool of Allied propaganda. You beat me to it. For scenes of thousands of dead on the battlefield or Jews being oppressed, you can’t go wrong with Barber’s Adagio for Strings. A little overused, but that’s because it goes so well with so many things. (It was even used in Seinfeld when Frank was having war flashbacks). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/14 "2005-04-07T17:32:48Z")
The “Tempo Giusto” from the first movement from Nielsen’s 5th Symphony. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/15 "2005-04-07T18:50:13Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > You beat me to it. > > For scenes of thousands of dead on the battlefield or Jews being oppressed, you can’t go wrong with Barber’s Adagio for Strings. A little overused, but that’s because it goes so well with so many things. (It was even used in Seinfeld when Frank was having war flashbacks). Since I was originally taught that Barber’s Adagio is a reflection on the change from Summer to Fall in upstate New York, when and where it was composed, I never really liked it used to score the Vietnam War. (BTW - the Adagio was also played at Princess Grace’s funeral, the first of two times that Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Princess was overlooked. But at leat the Adagio beats "Candle in the Wind.) For “pity of war” music, Shostakovich’s Babi Yar is effective, as is Katchaturian’s Invention, for scenes of the Russian Front. for Western Europe, I’d suggest Ralph Vaugh Williams, who, unlike Gustav Holst, actually experienced war firsthand\*. Frank Capra used Stravinky’s Firebird to score his “Why We Fight” propaganda films. And both Eisenstein and Woody Allen have used Prokofiev’s Charge of the Teutonic Knights. \*What do actuall combat veteran’s recommend as background music? There’s probably a wealth of suggestions from them for this. The only one I can recall offhand is from an Israeli soldier from the Yom Kippur War, who recalled having the Stone’s Gimme Shelter as an earworm as he was under fire. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/16 "2005-04-07T19:27:55Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > And both Eisenstein and Woody Allen have used Prokofiev’s Charge of the Teutonic Knights. Well, I wouldn’t say Eisenstein used this piece–it was actually written specifically for _Alexander Nevsky_ (aka the greatest film music ever written). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/17 "2005-04-07T20:13:34Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > Since I was originally taught that Barber’s Adagio is a reflection on the change from Summer to Fall in upstate New York, when and where it was composed, I never really liked it used to score the Vietnam War. While undeniably wonderful, the Adagio does unfortunately convey something of ‘Americanism’. Not in a negative way, and it’s nothing inherent to the music, but it’s through association through it having become the American default choice for ‘mournful music’. The OP doesn’t give his location, but it’s possibly something to be aware of. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/18 "2005-04-07T22:48:57Z")
Let’s not forget Wagner’s **Ride of the Valkyries** - remember Apocalypse Now? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/19 "2005-04-07T22:50:31Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Let’s not forget Wagner’s **Ride of the Valkyries** - remember Apocalypse Now? I’m pretty sure that using that for a WW2 soundtrack counts as a variant of Godwin’s Law. Or it should do. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152/20 "2005-04-07T22:53:41Z")
Every track on [this album](http://www.silvascreen.co.uk/master.cfm?SilvaCode=SILVAD3502) would work quite well (I know it’s on sale in the States, too, but couldn’t find it easily on Amazon). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-theme-classical-songs/298152.md?page=2)