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The Trench Trot

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https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/fbba7040-c556-0134-2373-0050569601ca-8
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Supplementary Document

Title
The Trench Trot - Lyrics
Composer
Klickmann, F. Henri  
Lyricist
Frost, Jack  
Publisher
Frank K. Root & Co.  
Place of Publication
Chicago (Ill.)  
Local Identifier
2014_12996_213
Collection
James Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection

Descriptive Information

Title
The Trench Trot
Composer
Klickmann, F. Henri  
Lyricist
Frost, Jack  
Publisher
Frank K. Root & Co.  
Place of Publication
Chicago (Ill.)  
Year of Publication
1918  
Physical Description
1 score, voice and piano ([1], [2]-[3], [1] p.)
Type
Musical notation  
Comment
Frost and Klickmann seem to have been only moderately successful in exploiting a pre-existing dance novelty. Despite its association with Sophie Tucker, and despite advertisements that persisted through May 1919, the only performances recorded in industry journals were by burlesque companies, with scattered amateur renditions noted through 1919.
Historical Note
  • This is the first of two printings
  • the second, with an inset of Sophie Tucker, postdates November 23, 1918, when it was announced that she would take up the song. (There is no evidence that she actually performed it, however.) The “trench trot” was first a satirical phrase used by American troops in descriptions of life in the trenches. A novelty dance by that name was proposed as early as August 1917 and was promoted vigorously in June 1918 at the international convention of the International Dancing Masters’ Association, which also announced plans to send a dancing masters’ unit to France to teach new dance steps to the soldiers. Some controversy followed this proposal, which appears not to have been implemented.
Musical Note
  • This novelty (marked “moderato”) is an adapted fox-trot by virtue of tempo and the extensive dotted rhythms. An unusually complex lyric is set ingeniously in an unusual 28-bar refrain
  • the verse, in contrast, is conventional. There are allusions to minor modes and the blues in both text and music, especially in the verse
  • the refrain suggests a march song, with syncopation and many passing chromatic inflections.
Repository
Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
Rights
Copyright Undetermined
Back Cover Description
Advertisement for “Late Patriotic Successes”. Four rows of samples: Top row: samples and covers for There’s a Little Blue Star in the Window (© 1918, advertised 1918 01 16) I’m Hitting the Trail to Normandy (© 1917 09 15) Second row: samples for Old Glory Goes Marching On (© 1918 04 10) Will the Angels Guard My Daddy Over There? (© 1918 04 10) When a Boy Says Good Bye to His Mother and She Gives Him To Uncle Sam (© 1917 09 04) Third row: samples for When It Comes to a Lovingless Day (© 1918 01 23) Let the Chimes of Normandy Be Our Wedding Bells (© 1918, advertised 1918 05 15) When the Kaiser Does the Goose-step to a Good Old American Rag (© 1917 10 22) Fourth row: samples and covers for A-M-E-R-I-C-A (© 1917 06 22) Giddy Giddap! Go on, Go on (© 1917 09 04)
Local Identifier
2014_12996_213
Collection Title
James Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection
Collection
James Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection
TitleThe Trench Trot
ComposerKlickmann, F. Henri  
LyricistFrost, Jack  
PublisherFrank K. Root & Co.  
Place of PublicationChicago (Ill.)  
Year of Publication1918  
Physical Description1 score, voice and piano ([1], [2]-[3], [1] p.)
TypeMusical notation  
CommentFrost and Klickmann seem to have been only moderately successful in exploiting a pre-existing dance novelty. Despite its association with Sophie Tucker, and despite advertisements that persisted through May 1919, the only performances recorded in industry journals were by burlesque companies, with scattered amateur renditions noted through 1919.
Historical Note
  • This is the first of two printings
  • the second, with an inset of Sophie Tucker, postdates November 23, 1918, when it was announced that she would take up the song. (There is no evidence that she actually performed it, however.) The “trench trot” was first a satirical phrase used by American troops in descriptions of life in the trenches. A novelty dance by that name was proposed as early as August 1917 and was promoted vigorously in June 1918 at the international convention of the International Dancing Masters’ Association, which also announced plans to send a dancing masters’ unit to France to teach new dance steps to the soldiers. Some controversy followed this proposal, which appears not to have been implemented.
Musical Note
  • This novelty (marked “moderato”) is an adapted fox-trot by virtue of tempo and the extensive dotted rhythms. An unusually complex lyric is set ingeniously in an unusual 28-bar refrain
  • the verse, in contrast, is conventional. There are allusions to minor modes and the blues in both text and music, especially in the verse
  • the refrain suggests a march song, with syncopation and many passing chromatic inflections.
RepositorySousa Archives and Center for American Music
RightsCopyright Undetermined
Back Cover DescriptionAdvertisement for “Late Patriotic Successes”. Four rows of samples: Top row: samples and covers for There’s a Little Blue Star in the Window (© 1918, advertised 1918 01 16) I’m Hitting the Trail to Normandy (© 1917 09 15) Second row: samples for Old Glory Goes Marching On (© 1918 04 10) Will the Angels Guard My Daddy Over There? (© 1918 04 10) When a Boy Says Good Bye to His Mother and She Gives Him To Uncle Sam (© 1917 09 04) Third row: samples for When It Comes to a Lovingless Day (© 1918 01 23) Let the Chimes of Normandy Be Our Wedding Bells (© 1918, advertised 1918 05 15) When the Kaiser Does the Goose-step to a Good Old American Rag (© 1917 10 22) Fourth row: samples and covers for A-M-E-R-I-C-A (© 1917 06 22) Giddy Giddap! Go on, Go on (© 1917 09 04)
Local Identifier2014_12996_213
Collection TitleJames Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection
CollectionJames Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection

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