Nicole Dillenberg’s show, The Popular Songs of World War I, was a nostalgic trip that harked back to a time — repeated in 1941-1945 but now only a memory — when this country’s fighting men were lauded and the population was virtually unanimous in its support of the war.  Dillenberg’s renditions nicely captured the songs’ and that era’s jaunty spirits.  With brief intros, she positioned her selections sensitively, fashioning an intriguing look back upon that earlier time as well as an enjoyable cabaret show.

Several WW1 songs were touching, such as the child trying to reach her father, with “Hello, Central, Give Me No Man’s Land.”  One sentimental favorite that has endured, “If You Were the Only Girl in the World (and I were the only boy)” took on added poignancy when Dillenberg pointed out that the 1916 lyric originally spoke to the parting of lovers as the lad was preparing to leave for possible combat.  While some songs seemed dated, others, surprisingly, are still familiar almost a century later.  George M. Cohan’s “Over There,” Irving Berlin’s “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning.”  Some will know “Pack Up Your Troubles,” or the British tune that became an American favorite, “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” or “Roses of Piccardy.” 

Among the serious wartime numbers were more than a few humorous ones. “If He Can Fight Like He Can Love,” “Give Me a Kiss By The Numbers,” and “K-K-K-Katy,” glorified as “the sensational stammering song success sung by soldiers and sailors.”  Dillenberg, who credited her grandfather’s collection of sheet music, even unearthed one with the plaint of a wounded soldier, “I Don’t Want to Get Well (I’m in love with a beautiful nurse).”

Peter Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
February 24, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org