United Nations on the March

Last updated
"United Nations on the March"
Single
Published1942
Genre March
Composer(s) Dmitri Shostakovich
Lyricist(s) Harold Rome

"United Nations on the March" is a song composed by Dmitri Shostakovich and with lyrics written by Harold Rome. The song was written with the intent of it serving as the anthem for the Allied Powers of World War II.

Contents

Song

Dmitri Shostakovich was a successful Soviet composer, having composed many pieces such as the Leningrad Symphony. The tune that would become the basis for "United Nations on the March" was composed by Shostakovich in 1932 for the film Counterplan . [1] The English lyrics of "United Nations on the March" were composed by Harold Rome, an American composer and lyricist, in 1942. [2] [3] The song was intended to serve as the anthem for the Allied Powers, though it only served as such in an unofficial context. [1]

Usage and variations

The song became a popular morale-booster during the war. It was the featured choral finale in the 1943 George Sidney musical and patriotic film Thousands Cheer . [4] Paul Robeson performed the song with an additional second verse in his album Songs for Free Men 1940-1945. [3] [5]

The tune became used for the French socialist song "Au-devant de la vie" (lit. 'Ahead of Life'). [6]

New lyrics to the tune of "United Nations on the March, titled "Salute to CYUC (M-L)" were written and performed by the Canadian Cultural Worker's Committee, a front for the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist–Leninist). It was released in an album titled The Party is the Most Precious Thing in 1979. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 Matthew Tobin Anderson (2015). Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad. Candlewick Press. ISBN   978-0-763-68054-1
  2. ↑ "Classical Archives". www.classicalarchives.com. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  3. 1 2 "The United Nations (Paul Robeson)". Political Folk Music. 2021-09-11. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  4. ↑ Thousands Cheer (1943) - Kathryn Grayson as Kathryn Jones - IMDb . Retrieved 2025-02-19– via www.imdb.com.
  5. ↑ "Songs for Free Men 1940-1945". galleryofsound.com. 2025. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  6. ↑ Rearick, Charles (1997-01-01). The French in Love and War: Popular Culture in the Era of the World Wars. Yale University Press. ISBN   978-0-300-06433-9.
  7. ↑ "Canadian Cultural Workers' Committee – Party Is The Most Precious Thing And Other Canadian Revolutionary Songs". Discogs. 1979.
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