Songs from war years salute the fallen
Side by Side Quartet honours Remembrance Day with Lest We Forget: Songs from the War Years
Some of the songs Carolyn Speirs will sing on Monday night are nearly a century old, but they still hold meaning for many of the people who come to watch the Side by Side Quartet perform.
After a recent show in Saltcoats, “I talked to lots of people who said, ‘I knew every song you sang in your show, I knew every word to every song,’” said Speirs, “so everybody has a different story as to why the music is so meaningful to them.”
Dianne Burrows, Norris Bjorndahl and Doug Pederson complete the quartet, while pianist Bill Sgrazzutti and bassist Danny Jones will provide musical accompaniment during Lest We Forget: Songs from the War Years.
Doug Alexander, the voice of the televised Remembrance Day ceremony on Access 7 in Regina, will be the concert’s guest MC. Ed Willett will read from the recently published memoirs of his wife’s grandfather, who was a veteran of the First World War.
The group has done similar shows since 2007, when three members were part of a Regina Lyric Musical Theatre production, Songs That Won the War.
“I think it’s important that we understand our history, for one thing,” said Speirs.
“People that were 18 and 19 and 20 years old that served in the war and, as you know, many of them didn’t come back. They have families that grew up in Saskatchewan. Some of the veterans did come back, like Harold Hague came back and ran a shoe store for all these years, and he was in a minesweeper flotilla that landed at D -Day.
“They had children and raised families and had businesses and all that legacy is still here with us today,” added Speirs. “I think we owe them that, but it’s also important for us to understand our history so we know who we are and where we came from.”
The audience can expect to hear songs made famous by Vera Lynn (including A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square and We’ll Meet Again) and the Andrews Sisters (including Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy).
“Surprisingly, the music from the war eras are very positive and happy and upbeat and a lot of songs about love, which seems unusual in a way because it was such a dark period, but I think the music was something that gave people joy and hope for the future,” said Speirs.
The audience can also expect a tribute to war brides — the approximately 48,000 women who followed their new beaus to Canada, bringing about 22,000 children along with them.
Speirs has met some of these now-grown children at her concerts.
“When we sing these songs about love, that’s the story of their parents,” she said.
Side by Side Quartet presents Lest We Forget: Songs from the War Years on Monday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m., at the Artesian, 2627 13th Ave.
Tickets are $20 and are available at Dancer’s Den Dancewear, 1630 Albert St. Speirs recommends getting tickets in advance or arriving at the venue early — in 2016, they had to turn people away at the door.
It’s also important for us to understand our history so we know who we are and where we came from.