1946 – “The Lights of the Promenades”

In this series we introduce 100 songs which have gone down in the history of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. They became popular by being played throughout important years and time periods or by winning the hit parade. We continue with the year 1946.

'The lights from the promenades'

Cities that were kept in darkness to protect them from bombings during the war were once again lit up. Normal street lights replaced the blinking blue will-o'-wisps, neon store signs were quickly restored and the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration began to fill store windows with never before seen goodies.

The young generation at the time gladly welcomed a new era of peace. They enjoyed many new freedoms, including dance, which the Germans had prohibited during the protectorate period. The bands could barely keep up with the storm of demands for new dance music and both older and more contemporary Anglo-American hits appeared in their programs. However, our Czechoslovak composers and song-writers would not allow themselves to be outdone. A first-rate melody from 1946 testifies to this.

The theme of the song itself proved to be extremely relevant to all of its listeners; “All the streets shine once more, there are thousands of lights everywhere, the lights from the promenades form a colorful waterfall.”

The lyricist of the foxtrot, Karel Kozel, and the composer, Petr Kareš (which was the pseudonym of the young hotelier Mr. Šrobek), precisely captured the atmosphere of the time, full of joy and hope for a free life.

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