Paul Kearns
From the Album
"Thoughts
from a Trench"
| Track (MP3 Format) | Listen |
| Home for Christmas - At the outbreak of WW1 it was really believed that the whole affair would be over by Christmas 1914. There was a rush to join up before the whole "adventure" was over. Recruiting offices were overrun with new recruits. Meanwhile, the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) was expected to push the Hun back into Germany in a matter of days. |  |
| Embarkation/Arrival in France - After basic training, the recruits were sent to the front line - most of them to the western front. After the excitement of sailing to a foreign country (most of them for the first time) came the reality and daily grind of life in the supply trenches. | |
| Nightingale - In the rare pauses in shelling although most of the trees were just exploded stumps, on occasions it was reported that many soldiers heard nightingales singing in no man's land. | |
| I want me Mum - This tells the tale of far too many young men (some as young as 15) who lied in order to join in the "fun". So many of them died alone in no man's land crying out for their mum. | |
| Me and my friends - A simple tune based around an old piano played in the mess of the RFC (later the RAF). Most f these were based well behind the front lines and early pilots enjoyed a far better standard of life than the tommies in the front line. The downside however was that the average life expectancy of a pilot in WW1 was less than 3 weeks. | |
| So Tired - Although the men themselves tried to make life at the front as bearable as possible, the perceived opinion of the "powers that be" was that, if the trenches were made "too comfortable", this would sap morale and the men may prefer trench life to going over the top. As a consequence of this asinine thinking troops had to take rest whenever and wherever they could and exhaustion was just a way of life. | |
| Lament for my Pals - It was thought a great idea to encourage volunteers from local communities to serve together. The idea was that if the were promised that they would stay together this would encourage join up and morale would be boosted. What actually happened was that lifelong friends were forced to watch their best friends blown to pieces in front of them. In some northern towns whole streets lost everyone under the age of 25 in one day. | |
| Thoughts of Home - When it came time for home leave, many tommies found themselves confused and saddened. Once they left the trenches and came home, they found the general understanding of the war was totally wrong. As a result, many soldiers returned early from home leave as, by that time, trench life had become more "real" to them than the quiet countryside of England. Once they returned to France, they wanted to be back home again - thus many succumbed to desperate depression brought about by the confusion caused by two different worlds - neither of which they wanted to be part of. | |
| When this war is over - "When will it end"? The often heard cry as the war dragged into it's 4th year with no sign of an end. After nearly 4 years of conflict, in many places along the front line troops were right back where they started. | |
| Aftermath - At the end of the war, there were huge celebrations in England. In France however, when the guns fell silent at 11:00 on 11/11/1918 - the men climbed out of their trenches, looked around at the devastation and thought "what was that all about then?" To them, the trench warfare of the last 4 years had become normal. When it ended, so did the friendships they had shared and a life where the un normal had become daily life. Many had terrible problems adjusting to civilian life after the war and carried this sadness to their graves. | |
About The Album
Well - it's only taken me about 20 years to get around to finishing this. I have always had an interest in WW1 and it's effects on the people who fought it. Sad to say there are only one or two left who were actually there but, over the years they have left a huge legacy of interviews and remembrances and it is from this that I have drawn my inspiration. WW1 was the first mechanised war and, because of that I think was one of the most awful (in the real meaning of the word). In 4 years warfare evolved from cavalry charges with swords to tanks and air warfare - with all the attendant terror and confusion that this brought with it. Quit how young men (and women) were meant to deal with being torn away from a safe and measured society into one of the most bloody conflicts ever is beyond a modern person's comprehension. What I have tried to get across is the feelings and emotions of the common everyday "Tommy" who somehow got caught up in this horror - many dying without ever realising what was going on.
