| Title | All Aboard for Home Sweet Home |
| Composer | - Piantadosi, Al
- Glogau, Jack
|
| Lyricist | Burkhardt, Addison |
| Publisher | Al Piantadosi & Co. |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Year of Publication | 1918 |
| Date of Copyright | 1918-03-06 |
| Physical Description | 1 score, voice and piano ([1], 2-3, [1] p.) |
| Comment | A minor success in spring 1918, this song had a second, bigger surge in popularity after the armistice. In both cases it was heard primarily in recordings and piano rolls, some of which were made even before copyright was registered. It was not widely used in vaudeville, but it was incorporated in a soldiers’ show in December 1918. By April 1919 it had faded from view. |
| Historical Note | - “Burkhardt” is misspelled as “Burkhart” on both the cover and p. 2.
- This is the second variant (of three) of the first printing (of two) of the first edition. A second edition, with a minor adjustment to the lyrics, was released after the armistice.
- The advertising in March 1918, which appeared at a time when the public was not optimistic about the war’s conclusion, specifically claimed this was “not a peace song but an inspiring march song.” Although advertising ended in April 1918, the piano rolls and the variant printings, which continued into May, imply some popularity. Immediately after the armistice the song was reissued with a slightly altered text, and it was vigorously promoted; in its new, timely version it was briefly but decidedly successful. Its use in a soldier’s show, “Who Stole the Hat?,” sustained its popularity from the armistice through December, but thereafter interest quickly diminished.
- Between April and August, 1918, three recordings and four piano rolls were issued. In January 1919 a fifth piano roll appeared.
|
| Musical Note | This is a march song (marked “marcia”), with a walking bass, rat-a-tat-tat rhythms and fanfare fills; but the sentiment and the fermata before the last phrase slightly suggest a march ballad. The first phrase of “Home Sweet Home” is quoted twice, with lyric references as well, and “The Girl I Left Behind Me” is quoted in the lyrics only. |
| Subject - Topic | - World War, 1914-1918 -- Songs and music.
- Popular music -- United States -- 1911-1920.
- Soldiers -- Songs and music.
- Home -- Songs and music.
- Homecoming -- Songs and music.
- Peace -- Songs and music.
|
| Lyrics | - [verse 1] Cheer up mothers, dry your tears / He’s coming back to you, / Sweethearts you’ll soon hear the cheers, / For your hero true, / Battles roar he’ll hear no more, / Soon he’ll sail from France’s shore, / When he’s paid the debt, / He owes to Lafayette, / He will say Goodbye and cry.
- [refrain 1] All aboard for Home Sweet Home again / to the girl I left behind, / I’ll go sailing ’cross the foam again, / What a welcome there I’ll find, / And the day that I return to her, / I will make that girl my own, / Hello dear home town I’m homeward bound, / All aboard for Home Sweet Home. /
- [verse 2] When our boys sail up the Bay, / A great day that will be, / They’ll be more than proud to say, / Hello Liberty, / With joy our hearts will be filled, / Soon our France we will rebuild, / For you’ve been true blue, / So now we say to you / “Au Revoir” but not “Goodbye.”
- [refrain 2]
|
| Musical Genre | March song |
| Repository | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sousa Archives and Center for American Music |
| Artist | Starmer [William and Frederick] |
| Cover Description | At bottom, on a dock, troops in formation marching up a gangplank onto a troop ship; wagon and artillery waiting to be loaded; above, center, Statue of Liberty, in a cloud; BL, oval photographic inset of the Courtney Sisters. Orange and blue; signed BR. |
| Back Cover Description | - Ornate frame enclosing the whole, with Piantadosi logo TC. Top: “Try These Four Great Songs on Your Piano / Each a different style__an enjoyable evenings entertainment.” Center: four samples:
- It’s a Long Ways Back to School Days (1918 01 15)
- You May Be a Doggone Dangerous Girl but I’m a Desperate Guy (1918 03 08)
- Look Me up When You’re in Dixie (1917 08 09)
- Here Comes America (1918 01 02)
|
| Interior Description | - Cover, in oval insert: Successfully introduced by Courtney Sisters
- p. 2, BL, in box: Can be had for Music Rolls / And Phonograph Records.
- Plate number: p. 3, BL: All Aboard etc. 2
|
| Performance Medium | Voice and piano |
| Original Location | - Record Series 12/9/96
- Series 2, Box 12, Folder 4
|
| Local Identifier | 2014_12996_050 |
| Collection Title | James Edward Myers Sheet Music Collection, 1836-1986 |
| Collection | James Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection |
Supplementary Document
