When We Wind Up The Watch on the Rhine

WHEN WE WIND UP THE WATCH ON THE RHINE

Gordon V. Thompson

VERSE 1

Now we must part,

Heart of my heart.

I can hear the bugle sounding with a call so clear!

Till I return, my heart will yearn

For the girl I leave behind me

In the homeland dear!

CHORUS

When we wind up “The Watch on the Rhine”

And we grind up the Kaiser’s last line.

When the war is done and the victory won,

I’ll come back to the girl that I call mine!

When we wind up “The Watch on the Rhine.”

We will bind up two hearts that entwine!

Wedding bells will be ringing

“Home Sweet Home” we’ll be singing,

When we wind up “The Watch on the Rhine!”

VERSE 2

Just one short line,

Sweetheart of mine:

I am battling for my country far from home to night.

Though foes assail,

Right must prevail;

So keep knitting still and smiling till we win our fight!

GORDON V. THOMPSON

“When we wind up the watch on the Rhine” was composed by Gordon Vincent Thompson in 1917. This song became one of Thompson’s most successful wartime songs.

Inspiration for the title likely came from several popular poems and songs composed in reference to years of French-German contests over Rhineland occupation. One such song would be “Die Wacht am Rhein”, which was a popular German patriotic anthem from the mid-1800s.

Other titles by Thompson include, “Do Your Bit” and “Home Sweet Home, For You We’re Fighting”, which is referenced in the lyrics of this song.

In 1918, as one of Canada’s foremost composers, Gordon Thompson established the Authors and Composers Association of Canada to protect the rights of author-composers through copyright legislation – a first for Canada.

THE RHINE

The Rhineland refers to the lands along the Rhine River in Western Germany.

During the war, the Rhineland, which bordered France, was the scene of major fighting. After the war had ended, French General Clemenceau felt that France’s border would only be secure if it were pushed forward towards the Rhine. The rest of the Allied powers, however, would not accept the annexation of lands populated by Germans.

The compromise was a 15-year military occupation of the territory, which saw the western portion of the Rhineland occupied by Allied powers. The Treaty of Versailles also stated that the Rhineland was to be a demilitarized zone and that the Germans were never to rearm the area. Nevertheless, the Rhineland was remilitarized in 1936, on the orders of Adolf Hitler.

WATCHES - A POPULAR GIFT FOR SOLDIERS

The term watch has a bit of a double-meaning in this song. The watch can mean time-keeping devices, as depicted on the cover of the sheet music. However, it also refers to those who were keeping watch over or guarding the Rhineland -- German occupying forces. “Winding up the watch” then means “to go to battle with”.

Did you know? WWI was instrumental in changing how men wore watches. It was the first major historical event where men wore wrist watches, for hands-free convenience over pocket watches.

Pocket watches or wrist watches were a popular gift to thank soldiers for enlisting or as send-off gift before heading to war. A number of recruits from Dufferin County received watches before going off to war.

Watches could be gifted by a family member. However, quite often a collection was taken up amongst a group of community members or a local organization such as the Women’s Institute, Masonic Lodge or Orange Lodge to purchase the watches.

Sometimes the watches were engraved with their name or custom message.