“Round, Round Hitler’s Grave” (1942) – The Almanac Singers * Written by Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Millard Lampell * Produced by Alan Lomax * Album: Dear Mr. President * Label: Keynote
For their Dear Mr. President mini album (three 78 RPM discs with one track per side), the Almanac Singers, who were Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Millard Lampell, and Lee Hays, stepped aside momentarily from their pro-union/anti-war focus, showing solidarity with the nation’s post-Pearl Harbor response to the Axis powers’ declaration of war. On the title track, Pete Seeger sings, “we got to lick Hitler now, and until we do, other things can wait.” The album’s most rousing track is “Round, Round Hitler’s Grave,” sung to the melody of “Old Joe Clark,” in which the four pacifists yearn to get a “rope around” Der Fuehrer’s neck.