Howard Johnson

Lyricist Howard Johnson (1887-1941) both served in the First World War and wrote popular songs about it, including the immortal ‘I’d Like to See the Kaiser with a Lily in his Hand’:

I’d like to see all mothers free from sorrow,

I’d like to see poor Belgium free from pain;

I’d like to see this cruel conflict ended,

I’d like to see my daddy once again.

I’d like to see the Yankees win this battle,

I’d like to see France get back her promised land;

I’d like to see this whole big world United,

And I’d like to see the Kaiser with a lily in his hand!

Johnson was capable of better than this, and his best-known song is probably ‘What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?,’ written in 1916 and made a UK chart hit by Shakin’ Stevens 70 years later.

Johnson co-wrote numbers for Children of Pleasure and the abandoned March of Time. His songs are also featured in Madam Satan, A Night at the Opera, For Me and My Gal and Hit the Deck.