All songs are fundamentally about yearning, but there’s a special deliciousness to the yearning of wartime songs, especially the swingy, lush popular music from WWII. Songs like this were often the only connection people had with each other—soldier meets a girl, shares a magical night or two, then ships off with nothing but the memory and the song that evokes it. For me, the nostalgia is not for my grandparents’ war, but for 1986, when the film Hannah and Her Sisters came out, its soundtrack full of wartime music, and taught me about the messiness and beauty of adulthood.

Helen Forrest with the Harry James Orchestra, “I've Heard that Song Before,” written by Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne, 1942.

This post is part of Music 100, a love letter to songs. 100 words on 100 songs in 100 days, running from Groundhog Day to early June, 2025.

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