University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois I-Mark

A-M-E-R-I-C-A Means "I Love You, My Yankee Land"

Permalink

https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/996705f0-e466-0135-4ad8-0050569601ca-b

The Newberry makes its collections available for any lawful purpose, commercial or non-commercial, without licensing or permission fees to the library, subject to the following terms and conditions: https://www.newberry.org/rights-and-reproductions

Descriptive Information

Title
A-M-E-R-I-C-A Means "I Love You, My Yankee Land"  
Alternative Title
p. [2], top: A-M-E-R-I-C-A Means "I Love You, My Yankee Land"  
Composer
Frost, Jack [pseudonym of Harold G. Frost]  
Lyricist
Frost, Jack [pseudonym of Harold G. Frost]  
Publisher
  • McKinley Music Co., Owners  
  • Chicago, IL : Frank K. Root & Co.  
Year of Publication
1917  
Date of Copyright
1917-06-22
Physical Description
1 score, voice and piano ([1], [2-3], [1] p.)
Type
Musical notation  
Comment
The publication history suggests this song had little impact, and it received a rather negative review in The New York Clipper (October 6, 1917), but there were scattered amateur performances at least through 1922. The cover image is striking in its marriage of French and British-American text and iconography.
Historical Note
  • There is one recording (Pathé 6463), made in Paris in December 1918 by L’Orchestre Scrap Iron Jazzerinos.  
  • The song was advertised from August 1917 through March 1918, but there was evidently only one printing.   
  • “Jack Frost” was the name used by Harold G. Frost for lighter numbers and novelties. McKinley Music Co. is listed as “owners” of Frank K. Root & Co. on the cover and appears as publisher on the back cover.  
Musical Note
A formally conventional march ballad (marked “marcia”), this title was classed as an applause number by The New York Clipper. The harmonies have chromatic inflections; in the chorus the first of each four-bar phrase is syncopated and rat-a-tat-tat interjections finish many phrases, but the rubato at the climax suggests a ballad. The whole is skilled but unexceptional. The first line of the verse explicitly evokes the 1915 hit spelling song, “M-O-T-H-E-R” (Theodore Morse and Howard Johnson), which this title clearly imitates.
Dedication
Dedication
Subject - Topic
  • English language -- Orthography and spelling -- Songs and music.  
  • Patriotic music -- United States.  
  • Popular music -- 1911-1920.  
  • World War, 1914-1918 -- Songs and music.  
Subject - Geographic
United States  
Lyrics
  • [refrain 2]
  • [verse 2] Our history tells the story / How heroes fought and fell, / Our children love “Old Glory” / And learn that name to spell. / We’re proud of all our splendor, / And ev’ry heart today / Should rise and worship to defend her / And learn to spell her name this way.
  • [refrain 1] “A” means you’re “anybody’s country,” / “M” means you’re “meant for me;” / “E” means you’re “ev’rybody’s sweetheart,” / And “R” for the “right of liberty.” / “I” stands for “independence first and all,” / “C” for your “colors so grand;” / “A-M-E-R-I-C-A,” America, / Means, “I love you, my Yankee Land.”
  • [verse 1] I’ve spelled a name called mother, / ’Twas dearest to my heart; / But now I’ll spell another, / For she and I must part. / I’d love to live and love her / Beneath her smiling skies, / They mean much more than dad or brother, / And spell a Yankee’s paradise.
Musical Genre
  • Applause number
  • March ballad
Repository
Newberry Library
Rights
The Newberry makes its collections available for any lawful purpose, commercial or non-commercial, without licensing or permission fees to the library, subject to the following terms and conditions: https://www.newberry.org/rights-and-reproductions
Cover Description
Allegorical woman (a fusion of Marianne and Lady Justice), in white robe, seated on a rock with a background of stars; on her modified Phyrgian cap appears “Liberty,” on her robe appears “Equality,” and on the rock below appears “Fraternity,” forming (vertically) the national motto of France; in her right hand she holds a balance labeled “Justice” and her left holds a sword, point resting on the rock, labeled “Righteousness,” the whole forming (horizontally) a pose associated with Lady Justice. Crimson and blue on white; unsigned.  
Back Cover Description
  • Fourth row: samples and covers for “Moonlight blues” (© 1916, advertised 1916 12 “08) and “My fox-trot girl” (© 1917, piano roll announced 1917 04 28).  
  • Third row: samples for “I ain’t got nobody” (© 1914 04 08), “Let’s go back to dreamy lotus land” (© 1917, advertised 1917 07 20), and “I love that loveable melody” (© 1917, piano roll announced 1917 02 24).  
  • Second row: samples for “The hour of memory” (© 1916 07 12), “Sweet cookie mine” (© 1917 04 19), and “Paradise blues” (© 1916 10 14).  
  • Top row: samples and covers for “If you’ve never been in dreamland you’ve never been in love” (© 1917, advertised 1917 06 14) and “Down the sunset trail to Avalon” (© 1917, advertised 1917 02 07).  
  • Advertisement for “Late Popular Successes”. Four rows of samples.  
Interior Description
Plate number: p. [3], BL: A-M-E-R-I-C-A etc. 2.  
Performance Medium
Voice and piano  
Original Location
Box 163
Local Identifier
nda163_055  
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
TitleA-M-E-R-I-C-A Means "I Love You, My Yankee Land"  
Alternative Titlep. [2], top: A-M-E-R-I-C-A Means "I Love You, My Yankee Land"  
ComposerFrost, Jack [pseudonym of Harold G. Frost]  
LyricistFrost, Jack [pseudonym of Harold G. Frost]  
Publisher
  • McKinley Music Co., Owners  
  • Chicago, IL : Frank K. Root & Co.  
Year of Publication1917  
Date of Copyright1917-06-22
Physical Description1 score, voice and piano ([1], [2-3], [1] p.)
TypeMusical notation  
CommentThe publication history suggests this song had little impact, and it received a rather negative review in The New York Clipper (October 6, 1917), but there were scattered amateur performances at least through 1922. The cover image is striking in its marriage of French and British-American text and iconography.
Historical Note
  • There is one recording (Pathé 6463), made in Paris in December 1918 by L’Orchestre Scrap Iron Jazzerinos.  
  • The song was advertised from August 1917 through March 1918, but there was evidently only one printing.   
  • “Jack Frost” was the name used by Harold G. Frost for lighter numbers and novelties. McKinley Music Co. is listed as “owners” of Frank K. Root & Co. on the cover and appears as publisher on the back cover.  
Musical NoteA formally conventional march ballad (marked “marcia”), this title was classed as an applause number by The New York Clipper. The harmonies have chromatic inflections; in the chorus the first of each four-bar phrase is syncopated and rat-a-tat-tat interjections finish many phrases, but the rubato at the climax suggests a ballad. The whole is skilled but unexceptional. The first line of the verse explicitly evokes the 1915 hit spelling song, “M-O-T-H-E-R” (Theodore Morse and Howard Johnson), which this title clearly imitates.
DedicationDedication
Subject - Topic
  • English language -- Orthography and spelling -- Songs and music.  
  • Patriotic music -- United States.  
  • Popular music -- 1911-1920.  
  • World War, 1914-1918 -- Songs and music.  
Subject - GeographicUnited States  
Lyrics
  • [refrain 2]
  • [verse 2] Our history tells the story / How heroes fought and fell, / Our children love “Old Glory” / And learn that name to spell. / We’re proud of all our splendor, / And ev’ry heart today / Should rise and worship to defend her / And learn to spell her name this way.
  • [refrain 1] “A” means you’re “anybody’s country,” / “M” means you’re “meant for me;” / “E” means you’re “ev’rybody’s sweetheart,” / And “R” for the “right of liberty.” / “I” stands for “independence first and all,” / “C” for your “colors so grand;” / “A-M-E-R-I-C-A,” America, / Means, “I love you, my Yankee Land.”
  • [verse 1] I’ve spelled a name called mother, / ’Twas dearest to my heart; / But now I’ll spell another, / For she and I must part. / I’d love to live and love her / Beneath her smiling skies, / They mean much more than dad or brother, / And spell a Yankee’s paradise.
Musical Genre
  • Applause number
  • March ballad
RepositoryNewberry Library
RightsThe Newberry makes its collections available for any lawful purpose, commercial or non-commercial, without licensing or permission fees to the library, subject to the following terms and conditions: https://www.newberry.org/rights-and-reproductions
Cover DescriptionAllegorical woman (a fusion of Marianne and Lady Justice), in white robe, seated on a rock with a background of stars; on her modified Phyrgian cap appears “Liberty,” on her robe appears “Equality,” and on the rock below appears “Fraternity,” forming (vertically) the national motto of France; in her right hand she holds a balance labeled “Justice” and her left holds a sword, point resting on the rock, labeled “Righteousness,” the whole forming (horizontally) a pose associated with Lady Justice. Crimson and blue on white; unsigned.  
Back Cover Description
  • Fourth row: samples and covers for “Moonlight blues” (© 1916, advertised 1916 12 “08) and “My fox-trot girl” (© 1917, piano roll announced 1917 04 28).  
  • Third row: samples for “I ain’t got nobody” (© 1914 04 08), “Let’s go back to dreamy lotus land” (© 1917, advertised 1917 07 20), and “I love that loveable melody” (© 1917, piano roll announced 1917 02 24).  
  • Second row: samples for “The hour of memory” (© 1916 07 12), “Sweet cookie mine” (© 1917 04 19), and “Paradise blues” (© 1916 10 14).  
  • Top row: samples and covers for “If you’ve never been in dreamland you’ve never been in love” (© 1917, advertised 1917 06 14) and “Down the sunset trail to Avalon” (© 1917, advertised 1917 02 07).  
  • Advertisement for “Late Popular Successes”. Four rows of samples.  
Interior DescriptionPlate number: p. [3], BL: A-M-E-R-I-C-A etc. 2.  
Performance MediumVoice and piano  
Original LocationBox 163
Local Identifiernda163_055  
Collection TitleJames Francis Driscoll Collection of American Sheet Music
CollectionWorld War I Sheet Music from the James Francis Driscoll Collection of American Sheet Music

Download Options

  Zip of Original Files…   Zip of JPEGs PDF
nda163_055-001
Original File (TIFF) Custom Image…
nda163_055-002
Original File (TIFF) Custom Image…
nda163_055-003
Original File (TIFF) Custom Image…
nda163_055-004
Original File (TIFF) Custom Image…
Email Curator About This Item