Music, Lyrics and Cultural Tropes in Australian Popular Songs of the First World War: Two Case Studies

During the First World War, hundreds of songs were written in Australia to give expression to the nation's attitudes to the conflict. Very few of these songs became well known but two songs in particular, 'Sing Us a Song of Australia' (1916) and 'For Auld Lang Syne: Australia Will be There' (1915), achieved wide and, at times, spectacular success. This article examines the circumstances that led to the creation of the songs and the reasons-musical, social, cultural-that made them so well regarded and well known. The article argues that both works became emblematic for the nation for quite different reasons yet both relied to an extent on exploiting notions of nation, empire and masculinity for their success.