Title | All's Well! |
Alternative Title | Cover: All’s Well / Foreign Legion Soldier |
Composer | Miles, Nellie |
Lyricist | Fisher, George Nelson |
Publisher | Geo. Nelson Fisher |
Place of Publication | New York (N.Y.) |
Year of Publication | 1918 |
Date of Copyright | 1918-11-09 |
Physical Description | 1 score, voice and piano ([1], 2-3, [1] p.) |
Comment | This was one of two war-related lyrics out of eight song-texts written by George Nelson Fisher in 1918. All eight texts were set by Nellie Miles; all were self-published; none had any discernible impact. These eight titles were the only lyrics Fisher produced. |
Historical Note | - There are no documented performances, recordings, or promotional activities.
- The Zouaves (verse 1) were a French regiment originally formed in Africa in the early 1800s. They wore a distinctive uniform; though the French Foreign Legion was different, strictly speaking, the two were often conflated in the public mind. Thus the protagonist of this song is, apparently, a man from Tennessee who has volunteered to fight with French troops and has been assigned to the Zouave regiment.
- The copyright is registered to Fisher in Newton, Massachusetts. He actually lived in Somerville; Nellie Miles lived in Lynn; and the copyright line on the imprint places Fisher in New York. No explanation for the discrepancies has emerged.
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Musical Note | This semi-high-class ballad is framed by unharmonized quotations in the piano part: the introduction pairs the Irish song “The Dawning of the Day” with “Reveille”, and the refrain is followed by a full quotation of “Taps.” A phrase from “The Dawning of the Day” also appears in the verse at the end of line four, which contains those words. The tempo changes from Andante Moderato to Allegro at the refrain; ritardandos, fermatas, and other expressive marks define the genre. Awkward voicings, clumsy prosody, and incorrect harmonic spellings are somewhat surprising in view of the composer’s extensive experience as a conductor. The instruction “once only” precedes the refrain; probably the intention is to sing the first verse and refrain, omitting the closing quotation of “Taps,” and then to sing the second verse, omit the refrain, and go directly to the closing quotation. |
Dedication | Dedication |
Subject - Topic | - France. Armée. Légion étrangère
- Letters
- Songs and music
- Separation (Psychology)
- Death
- Soldiers
- Popular music
- Songs and music
- World War, 1914-1918
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Subject - Geographic | - United States
- France
- Tennessee
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Subject - Temporal | 1911-1920 |
Lyrics | - [verse 2] O'er there in France he did his best, / For country love and Tennessee, / Calmly he went to his long rest / As bugle notes began that morning's reveille. / Letters of his saucy darling, / Came often to him from o'er the main / But the promise in this one brought / Great longing to get home again; / Tho' well he knew ne'er more he'd see the sweet face of his Dixie Belle, / And he sighed, smiled and died, Nellie loved him, all is well.
- [refrain 1] His all he gave, his life is sped / He's resting there in Picardy; / Dreamless his sleep 'till time has fled / When trumpets sound final recall and Reveille.
- [verse 1] All's well the weary sentry cries, / E'er it was passed along its way, / The sun had lit the eastern skies / The throbbing drums began at the dawning of the day. / Rousing from his fitful slumbers / A dying soldier lad in Zouaves blue, / From his dreamings of his loved ones, / Whose tender heart was leal and true; / Clenched in his hand all soiled and frayed was a letter from his Dixie Belle, / And he muttered as he kissed it, Nellie loves me, all is well.
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Musical Genre | Semi-high-class ballad |
Repository | Newberry Library |
Rights | NoC-US |
Rights Description | The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. |
Cover Description | Text with inset photograph of George Nelson Fisher; simple art nouveau border and ornaments. Brown on white; unsigned. |
Back Cover Description | Blank. |
Interior Description | Plate number: p. 3, BL: All is Well 2 |
Performance Medium | Voice and piano. |
Original Location | Box 163 |
Local Identifier | nda163_037 |
Collection Title | James Francis Driscoll Collection of American Sheet Music |
Collection | World War I Sheet Music from the James Francis Driscoll Collection of American Sheet Music |