Structures, song traditions, fears and fantasies

Popular song does not illustrate History with a capital H, played out elsewhere in muddy trenches, grimy factories or oak-panelled offices. On the contrary, it involves a series of mass activities which are as much a part of history as are working and fighting. This contribution aims at assessing the popular love song repertoires in Britain and in France during the First World War, defining popular song, for our present purposes, simply as the songs which sold the most. In particular I want to analyze the cultural, legal, economic, historical, logistical and social reasons that these two repertoires were so radically different. Indeed, the determinedly upbeat, jolly and prudish repertoire of British music hall evenings contrasted sharply with the romantic, melodramatic, realistic and intimate stories put to music in French café-concerts.