Work Text:
Most accounts of the Hundred Year War focus on the politico-military actions of the involved combatants, or else the decisive role played by Avatar Aang and my grandfather in ending the conflict. This work is laudable, but it tends to overlook cultural histories of the period, to the detriment of a more nuanced understanding. As part of my research for my forthcoming volume from Yu Dao University Press Greet Agni Like A Soldier: Religion, Resistance, and the End of Empire in the Baiyi Valley, I put together this guide to popular songs from both sides of the conflict, extracting key verses with some commentary below.
I hope it proves of some interest to readers – not least of which my brother, who has an awful tendency to sing some of these to his children without providing context (or to be frank, vocal ability). If cited – and spirits know why – the correct format is: Ursa. (186 AG). Marching Songs of the Hundred Year War. Fire Nation Royal Palace, Caldera City.
For Agni
What Captain leads your armies
Along the earthen coasts?
The Mighty One of Caldera
His Name is Lord of Hosts!
For Agni, For Agni
The Lord has led us forth,
To blow before the eastern walls
The trumpets of the North!
As best I can determine, this song originates in 12 AG, with levies from the northern island of Lahaisin went south to join Fire Lord Sozin’s last campaign led in person in the south-eastern Earth Kingdom against the young King Bumi’s forces in Omashu State. The explicit association of the campaign with a religious mission is interesting, and so too the association of Fire Lord Sozin with Agni as his mortal prophet. This has been argued by some to be the start of the process which ultimately led to the imperial cult of the Phoenix King; although others suggest that centralisation process initiated by Fire Lord Zoryu is a more accurate starting point.
We’re Gonna Hang Out The Washing On The Sing Se Line
We're gonna hang out the washing on the Sing Se Line,
Have you any dirty washing, mother dear?
We're gonna hang out the washing on the Sing Se Line,
'Cause the washing day is here.
Whether the weather may be wet or fine,
We just rub along without a care!
We're gonna hang out the washing on the Sine Se Line,
If the Sing Se Line's still there!
This fine specimen – it has many more verses – originates from General Iroh’s campaign against Ba Sing Se, starting in 91 AG and culminating in 95 AG. It reflects the optimism of both the Army and the population at large regarding the offensive. While General Iroh succeeded in forcing open and pacifying much of the Baiyi Valley, paving the way for future operations headed by his niece Princess Azula, he failed to progress further than the outer wall of the city. As a consequence, it fell out of popular usage; although it saw something of a resurgence among the Fire Army during Kuvira’s invasion of the United Republic, some ninety years later.
When Jian Comes Marching Home
When Jian comes marching home again
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel glad
When Jian comes marching home.
This song originates from 76 AG, arguably the nadir of Fire Nation fortunes in the latter half of the war – with the Army not having recovered from defeat at Pohaui, and the combination of high taxes and a poor harvest leading to widespread famine in the southern Fire Nation and colonial territories. In light of this, the celebration of the return of soldiers and the end of war takes on an almost revolutionary cast. When the 39th Sei’naka – the last regular Fire Nation force to return from the Earth Kingdom – paraded through the Caldera in 101 AG, they were greeted by a crowd of over two hundred thousand singing this tune.
Over There
Over there, over there
Send the word, send the word over there
That the Fire is coming
The Fire is coming
The drums rum tumming everywhere
So prepare, say a prayer
Send the word, send the word to beware
We'll be over, we're coming over
And we won't come back till it's over, over there
This bombastic piece – of which I quote the chorus – originates from the start of the war in 1 AG. It was sung by the Royal Firebenders as they marched down to Caldera Port, and later also in 21 AG by soldiers from Sei’naka and Saowon in their efforts during the New Yokoya campaign. While it did see a rebirth during Iroh’s campaign against Ba Sing Se, war weariness broadly put paid to its popularity, with most renditions being used in jest.
Will Not Cease
Bring me my Bow of burning gold:
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold:
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from mortal fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built our nation,
In ‘Mashu’s green & pleasant Land.
These verses are actually a modified second half of a poem decrying industrialisation within the Fire Nation written in 44 AG, later set to music in 49 AG. While its intended purpose did not register, a version of the latter portion reworded as an endorsement of colonial expansion in the Earth Kingdom became popular around 57 AG as the Fire Nation finished securing the western shores of the Earth Kingdom and began its advance east.
My Country Calling
I heard my country calling, away across the sea,
Across the waste of waters, she calls and calls to me.
Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head
And around her feet are lying the dying and the dead;
I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her flames;
I haste to thee, my mother, a blade among thy blades
This is the first verse of a popular patriotic anthem written in 73 AG as part of Fire Lord Azulon’s efforts to increase recruitment following the disaster at Pohaui. It was sung in schools and at temple services and was arguably a definitional piece of music for the late war period. On his ascension to the throne, my grandfather ordered it rewritten to have a stronger emphasis on the creation of a peaceful land for Agni through non-violent means. Pro-imperial protestors still regularly sing the original version at rallies.
Unconditional Surrender
Amidst the din of warfare and the shrieks of hosts a-dying,
We heard a shout of triumph, saw the flag of truce a-flying;
And we knew the daofei leader a petition came to tender,
But our gallant general granted unconditional surrender.
This Earth Kingdom song actually originates in the 320s BG during campaigns against the Yellow Neck daofei as a propaganda piece extolling the virtues of various commanders – the lyrics don’t specify a single name, giving it some flexibility. While its usage fell off throughout the 200s due to Avatar Kyoshi’s campaigns, it saw renewed use in the early years of the Hundred Year War. The conflation of Fire Nation invasion with daofei predation by propagandists and administrators in this early period speaks to security perceptions in the kingdom, which had not dealt with a foreign threat since the destruction of the Fifth Nation over three hundred years prior.
Men of Gaoling
Men of Gaoling, stop your dreaming,
Can't you see their spearpoints gleaming,
See their warrior pennants streaming,
To this battle field!
Men of Gaoling on to glory,
This will ever be your story,
Keep these burning words before ye,
Gaoling will not yield!
This song was composed in 16 AG following the Battle of Kasono. In the action, the young Lord Tao Beifong was placed in charge of a reserve force of levies from his hometown of Gaoling. Following the collapse of a regiment of pikemen to his flank and fearing that the Fire Nation would unhinge the entire Earthen line, he is understood to have shouted ‘Men of Gaoling! On to glory!’ before leading a charge which punched through an overextended Fire Nation formation, ultimately assuring victory. It was later rewritten as ‘Men of Zaofu’ by propagandists attached to Kuvira’s staff during the Wars of Unification, although the lack of inclusivity in the lyrics irked her.
Sing Se Volunteers
The rebels out in Oma’s Land
They madly raved and swore,
They'd let none of our royal troops
Pass through to Shailamor
But the Rooster District Regiment
No traitors did they fear
But they fought their way to Retu Town
Like Sing Se Volunteers!
Whipped up by some enterprising songster in 2 AG, this song recorded the suppression of pro-Fire Nation rebels in central Earth Kingdom by royal forces on their way to contest Sozin’s invasion the previous year. Popular history, taking its cues from the later years of the conflict, tends to paint the Hundred Years War as a struggle between Ba Sing Se and the Caldera. In truth, many local lords, kings, and peasants saw opportunities for hedging and balancing between the two sides, especially in the early war. It is also notable as one of the first mentions in the historical record of the ‘Rooster District Regiment’ – named ‘The Fighting Pigchickens’ by Fire Nation troops, a sobriquet they took up with relish. The Pigchickens, who draw exclusively from the slums of Ba Sing Se’s Lower Ring, have a distinguished combat record, with 79 campaign streamers and a unit citation for the Kyoshi Medal of Freedom.
Free and Green
Well, we took his body home
And the drums and pipes did drone
And pulled a fine black casket through the streets
And then told his grieving wife
That he loved her more than life
And gave to his young son his father's sword
Now the people, they all dream
Of a kingdom free and green
Where nowhere can be heard the battle-cry
The fighting's gone too long
And it just drags on and on
I'd like to know some peace before I die
Most scholars suggest this song was composed in 75 AG, although the exact origins are not known with certainty. While the Battle of Pohaui in 73 AG was a great success for the Earth Kingdom, it was not effectively exploited, and the Fire Nation was perceived to have recovered – suggesting that the war would rumble on indefinitely. The full song tells the story of Captain Lian of the 719th Asina Foot, who fell in action at Pohaui. It should be understood as a mourning song, in the main, and an Earth Kingdom answer to ‘Leaves from the Vine’, a famous Fire Nation song of a similar character. However, it also took on an anti-colonial and revolutionary character for bands of partisans operating in Fire Nation colonies around Gaipan, Yu Dao, and Haiza. ‘A kingdom free and green’ was a particularly effective rallying cry. Later anti-monarchist rebels, including the Red Lotus movement, would later change that line to ‘a nation free and green’ – an interpretation which gained traction following the Act of Dissolution passed by King Wu in 175 AG.
Beifong Shall March to the Sea
Our camp fires shone bright on the mountain
That frowned on the river below,
While we stood by our spears in the morning,
And eagerly watched for the foe,
When a horseman came out from the darkness
That hung over mountains and tree,
And shouted, "Boys, up and be ready,
For Beifong will march to the sea."
This song first emerged in 34 AG, chronicling throughout its twenty three verses – of which in the interests of brevity I quote only the first – Lord Tao Beifong’s ‘March to the Sea’, where his army broke through Fire Nation lines around the southern Si Wong and marched to the Mo Ce, burning supply lines and relieving cities as they went. The March was credited with erasing the progress made by almost three years of steady offensive action by the Fire Nation.
Beifong’s Body
Beifong's body lies a-mouldering in the grave
Beifong’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave
Beifong's body lies a-mouldering in the grave
But his soul goes marching on
Composed in 52 AG, this song memorialises Lord Tao Beifong, who fell the previous year at Ikaza, aged sixty seven. While initially only popular among soldiers of his army, it quickly spread throughout the western Earth Kingdom and became a popular military anthem which endured after the war. This is understood to have been rather embarrassing for future generations of the Beifong clan.