Skip to main content

Story: Folk, country and blues music

The songs we sang – songs from the Second World War

Audio file

New Zealand servicemen and -women sang a wide range of often very irreverent songs during their war service. In 1959 Les Cleveland compiled some of the songs from the Second World War in his book  The songs we sang, and released a selection on an album of the same name. Cleveland sang on the record accompanied by a musical group, the D-Day Dodgers. Listen to them performing 'The fighting Kiwi'.

Using this item

Kiwi Pacific Records International

Courtesy of the Les Cleveland estate

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Chris Bourke, Folk, country and blues music – Folk music collection and revival, 1920s to 2010s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/music/42434/the-songs-we-sang-songs-from-the-second-world-war (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Chris Bourke, published 2 September 2013.

Comments

Valerie Wilks
16 October 2023
I am writing a play about the Kiwis in WW2 and looking for some songs sang in the local pubs when the boys were call up. i can't seem to find any that's not American. I have listed 'We are the boys down-under'. can you suggest any others? appreciated if you can. Val