That Crazy War

DESCRIPTION: Singer, drafted into World War I, humorously describes awful experiences, saying everyone (including him) was just trying to avoid getting shot "in that war, that crazy war." In one version, he says that if there's another war he'll be hard to find.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (recording, Jimmy Yates & His Boll Weevils)
KEYWORDS: army war France humorous soldier
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1914 - World War I begins in Europe
1917 - U.S. enters World War I
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Cohen/Seeger/Wood-NewLostCityRamblersSongbook, p. 102, "That Crazy War" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 275, "That Crazy War" (1 text)
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore2 239, "That Bloody War" (4 texts, of which "C" and "D," both short, probably belong here; "A" and "B" are "Battleship of Maine")
DT, CRAZYWAR*
Roud #779
RECORDINGS:
Lulu Belle & Scotty, "That Crazy War" (OKeh 06103, 1941)
New Lost City Ramblers, "The Crazy War" (on NLCREP2)
Jimmy Yates & His Boll Weevils, "Bloody War" (Victor V-40065, 1929)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Battleship of Maine" (lyrics)
cf. "That Bloody War (I)" (lyrics, theme)
NOTES [53 words]: This song seems to have been adapted to fit almost every war in existence. It is fitting, though, that it apparently comes from World War I -- the stupidest, most wasteful conflict of them all.
Some of the versions in Brown hint that this ended up mixing with "Battleship of Maine," and Roud apparently lumps them. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.2
File: CSW102

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