This song was originally written for the musical film "Meet Me in St. Louis," released in 1944--right in the middle of World War 2. Everyone in the audience during its first run would have either been in the military, or had friends and family in the military, and would have at least known people who were overseas, and who had lost someone in the war. The lines "Someday soon we all will be together/If the fates allow/Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow" would have hit them emotionally in a way that we can't really appreciate 80 years later.
This song was originally written for the musical film "Meet Me in St. Louis," released in 1944--right in the middle of World War 2. Everyone in the audience during its first run would have either been in the military, or had friends and family in the military, and would have at least known people who were overseas, and who had lost someone in the war. The lines "Someday soon we all will be together/If the fates allow/Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow" would have hit them emotionally in a way that we can't really appreciate 80 years later.