I bought tickets for the John McCutcheon concert which was to feature his song "Christmas in the Trenches", about the Christmas Truce of WWI, held at the World War I Museum in KC. We missed the concert but spent about four hours going thru the Word War I Museum. I've seen the Kansas City monument for ages but haven't taken the time to visit it. My knowledge of WWI was minimal and I wanted to change that. The history is more engaging that I thought. It's a very involved history. Wilma and I absorbed it all. At their cafe for lunch I had Trench Stew (mmm!) with carrots, turnips and corned beef.
I haven't heard that song, but it may he similar to Celtic Thunder's "Christmas 1915". (Can be found on youtube). Sad story. This is an interesting record.
ReplyDeleteI just went out and listened to them. Great Song! But it is different. Same part of the war with trench war and No Man's Land, and same sentiment. 'Christmas In The Trenches" dealt with the first Christmas, though, which was 1914. Britain and Germany both thought the war would be over by Christmas of 1914, which was way off. Thanks for the reference. Their tight harmony brings goosebumps. You can find John singing his song on YouTube, also.
ReplyDeleteInteresting history. Related to the Winter of 1914 is a picture book recently given to me, And the Soldiers Sang, by J. Patrick Lewis & illustrated by Gary Kelley (an artist who lives where I do in Cedar Falls, Iowa). Plot: Welsh and Germans facing each other across no-man's land on Christmas Eve at the Belgian Western Front sing their way into an un-authorized Christmas truce. Here's the link to it on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/And-Soldiers-Sang-Patrick-Lewis/dp/0898129753
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