Why was the song Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy written during World War 2?

Answer 1

During the war, many people in the US and Great Britain found an escape by listening to the radio. Hit songs were a nice form of catharsis for the public; the lyrics were often about situations the average person could relate to, and it helped the listeners to feel that they were not alone. So, naturally, songwriters wanted to provide music that would be uplifting, encouraging, and of course, patriotic. (You will find that many songs about patriotism make the hit parade during times of crisis, and World War 2 was no exception.) I may be wrong, but as far as I know, the song "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" isn't about a real person-- it's about a concept. Getting up early (the bugle would blow "reveille" and the soldiers, like most of us, hated to get out of bed) was always annoying, and songs had been written before about how difficult it was to get up and go to work. So why not have a character who inspired the soldiers to get out of bed by making them feel like dancing? Dancing-- swing and big band dancing especially-- was a popular activity in those days, so combine a war theme and an up-tempo song, mix in some humour, and the result was a huge hit that made a lot of people feel better during very difficult times.