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It's Time for Every Boy to Be a Soldier

Title
It's Time For Every Boy To Be A Soldier - Lyrics
Composer
Tierney, Harry  
Lyricist
Bryan, Alfred  
Publisher
Jerome H. Remick & Co.  
Place of Publication
New York (N.Y.)  
Lyrics
It’s Time for Every Boy to be a Soldier Verse: Most ev’ry fellow has a sweetheart Some little girl with eyes of blue My daddy also had a sweetheart And he fought to win her too There’ll come a day when we must pay the price of love and duty Be there staunch and true Refrain: It’s time for ev’ry boy to be a soldier To put his strength and courage to the test It’s time to place a musket on his shoulder And wrap the Stars and Stripes around his breast It’s time to shout those noble words of Lincoln And stand up for the land that gave you birth “That the nation of the people by the people for the people Shall not perish from the earth.” Verse: Boys of America get ready Your mother land is calling you Boys of America be steady For the Old Red White and Blue When Yankee Doodle comes to town upon his little pony Be there staunch and true Refrain
Repository
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
Original Location
  • Series 2, Box 15, Folder 10
  • Record Series 12/9/96
Local Identifier
2014_12996_286
Collection Title
James Edward Myers Sheet Music Collection, 1836-1986
Collection
James Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection

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https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/f8ef45c0-c556-0134-2373-0050569601ca-2

Descriptive Information

Title
It's Time for Every Boy to Be a Soldier
Composer
Tierney, Harry  
Lyricist
Bryan, Alfred  
Publisher
Jerome H. Remick & Co.  
Place of Publication
New York  
Year of Publication
1917  
Date of Copyright
1917-05-16
Physical Description
1 score, voice and piano ([1], [2]-[3], [1] p.)
Comment
Alfred Bryan's lyrics are in part a late rebuttal to the text he himself had penned for the 1915 neutrality hit "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier”; Tierney's upbeat, straightforward music similarly repudiates the sentimental style of Piantadosi's earlier ballad. Their song never quite attained the success that attended an earlier, rival rebuttal, "America, Here's My Boy"; but since it appeared just a month after the United States had declared war, it also functioned very successfully as a recruiting song, remaining steadily popular through the war years and beyond.
Historical Note
  • The artist, LPN, has not yet been identified. The cover gives Lincoln and Wilson equal prominence, but the lyrics conclude with a slightly modified quotation from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, whereas Wilson is neither mentioned nor quoted.
  • Like Andrew Sterling's earlier "America, Here's My Boy," Bryan's lyrics for the refrain closely parallel those of "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier": the structure and rhyme scheme is the same, the first and third lines closely paraphrase the earlier song, and the break in the penultimate line recalls the earlier internal rhyme. However, unlike Sterling, Bryan made no attempt to preserve either the structure of the verse nor the difference between narrative and voice that characterised the original.
  • This is the first variant of the first printing. All the printings are distinguished by the lists of titles on the back covers; in addition, the fourth includes photographs in the cover insets, rather than the drawings used in previous printings. Variants within a printing are distinguished by the music advertised on the back covers and and ordered by the associated copyright dates. This printing was deposited for copyright on May 15, 1917.
Musical Note
This lively, largely conventional march song contains faint hints of a ballad: the breaks in the penultimate line and the optional high notes at the end. The verse quotes "Yankee Doodle" in the penultimate line of music, confirming the quotation in the lyrics of the second verse.
Subject - Topic
  • World War, 1914-1918 -- Songs and music.  
  • Popular music -- United States -- 1911-1920.  
  • Patriotic music -- United States.  
  • Soldiers -- United States -- Songs and music.  
  • Recruiting and enlistment -- Songs and music.  
  • Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924 -- Pictorial works.  
  • Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Pictorial works.   
  • United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.) -- Pictorial works.   
  • Marches (Voice with piano)  
Lyrics
  • [Verse 1] Most ev'ry fellow has a sweetheart / Some little girl with eyes of blue / My daddy also had a sweetheart / And he fought to win her too / There'll come a day when we must pay the price of love and duty / Be there staunch and true
  • [refrain 1] It's time for ev'ry boy to be a soldier / To put his strength and courage to the test / It's time to place a musket on his shoulder / And wrap the Stars and Stripes around his breast / It's time to shout those noble words of Lincoln / And stand up for the land that gave you birth / "That the nation of the people by the people for the people / Shall not perish from the earth"
  • [verse 2] Boys of America get ready / Your motherland is calling you / Boys of America be steady / For the Old Red White and Blue / When Yankee Doodle comes to town upon his little pony / Be there staunch and true
  • [refrain 2]
Musical Genre
March song
Repository
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
Artist
LPN  
Cover Description
Abstractly drawn soldier standing at rest, holding a rifle, flanked by inset drawings of Lincoln, left, and Wilson, right; behind is a stylised image of the United States Capitol building, trees behind, cavalry in silhouette passing in front. Brown and red on white; signed BR.
Back Cover Description
Text and sample: Where the Black-Eyes Susans Grow (© 1917 02 07); sample cover above, in art deco frame with vines; two bordering lists below ("New Song Hits", top title: Where the Black-Eyes Susans Grow; “New Instrumental Hits", top title: Sans Toi Waltzes); most recent title listed: Sans Toi Waltzes (© 1917 03 14).
Interior Description
  • Plate number, p. [2], BL: 392-2
  • Plate number, p. [3], BL: It’s time etc. 2
Performance Medium
Voice and piano.  
Original Location
  • Record Series 12/9/96
  • Series 2, Box 15, Folder 10
Local Identifier
2014_12996_286
Collection Title
James Edward Myers Sheet Music Collection, 1836-1986
Collection
James Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection
TitleIt's Time for Every Boy to Be a Soldier
ComposerTierney, Harry  
LyricistBryan, Alfred  
PublisherJerome H. Remick & Co.  
Place of PublicationNew York  
Year of Publication1917  
Date of Copyright1917-05-16
Physical Description1 score, voice and piano ([1], [2]-[3], [1] p.)
CommentAlfred Bryan's lyrics are in part a late rebuttal to the text he himself had penned for the 1915 neutrality hit "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier”; Tierney's upbeat, straightforward music similarly repudiates the sentimental style of Piantadosi's earlier ballad. Their song never quite attained the success that attended an earlier, rival rebuttal, "America, Here's My Boy"; but since it appeared just a month after the United States had declared war, it also functioned very successfully as a recruiting song, remaining steadily popular through the war years and beyond.
Historical Note
  • The artist, LPN, has not yet been identified. The cover gives Lincoln and Wilson equal prominence, but the lyrics conclude with a slightly modified quotation from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, whereas Wilson is neither mentioned nor quoted.
  • Like Andrew Sterling's earlier "America, Here's My Boy," Bryan's lyrics for the refrain closely parallel those of "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier": the structure and rhyme scheme is the same, the first and third lines closely paraphrase the earlier song, and the break in the penultimate line recalls the earlier internal rhyme. However, unlike Sterling, Bryan made no attempt to preserve either the structure of the verse nor the difference between narrative and voice that characterised the original.
  • This is the first variant of the first printing. All the printings are distinguished by the lists of titles on the back covers; in addition, the fourth includes photographs in the cover insets, rather than the drawings used in previous printings. Variants within a printing are distinguished by the music advertised on the back covers and and ordered by the associated copyright dates. This printing was deposited for copyright on May 15, 1917.
Musical NoteThis lively, largely conventional march song contains faint hints of a ballad: the breaks in the penultimate line and the optional high notes at the end. The verse quotes "Yankee Doodle" in the penultimate line of music, confirming the quotation in the lyrics of the second verse.
Subject - Topic
  • World War, 1914-1918 -- Songs and music.  
  • Popular music -- United States -- 1911-1920.  
  • Patriotic music -- United States.  
  • Soldiers -- United States -- Songs and music.  
  • Recruiting and enlistment -- Songs and music.  
  • Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924 -- Pictorial works.  
  • Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Pictorial works.   
  • United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.) -- Pictorial works.   
  • Marches (Voice with piano)  
Lyrics
  • [Verse 1] Most ev'ry fellow has a sweetheart / Some little girl with eyes of blue / My daddy also had a sweetheart / And he fought to win her too / There'll come a day when we must pay the price of love and duty / Be there staunch and true
  • [refrain 1] It's time for ev'ry boy to be a soldier / To put his strength and courage to the test / It's time to place a musket on his shoulder / And wrap the Stars and Stripes around his breast / It's time to shout those noble words of Lincoln / And stand up for the land that gave you birth / "That the nation of the people by the people for the people / Shall not perish from the earth"
  • [verse 2] Boys of America get ready / Your motherland is calling you / Boys of America be steady / For the Old Red White and Blue / When Yankee Doodle comes to town upon his little pony / Be there staunch and true
  • [refrain 2]
Musical GenreMarch song
RepositoryUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
ArtistLPN  
Cover DescriptionAbstractly drawn soldier standing at rest, holding a rifle, flanked by inset drawings of Lincoln, left, and Wilson, right; behind is a stylised image of the United States Capitol building, trees behind, cavalry in silhouette passing in front. Brown and red on white; signed BR.
Back Cover DescriptionText and sample: Where the Black-Eyes Susans Grow (© 1917 02 07); sample cover above, in art deco frame with vines; two bordering lists below ("New Song Hits", top title: Where the Black-Eyes Susans Grow; “New Instrumental Hits", top title: Sans Toi Waltzes); most recent title listed: Sans Toi Waltzes (© 1917 03 14).
Interior Description
  • Plate number, p. [2], BL: 392-2
  • Plate number, p. [3], BL: It’s time etc. 2
Performance MediumVoice and piano.  
Original Location
  • Record Series 12/9/96
  • Series 2, Box 15, Folder 10
Local Identifier2014_12996_286
Collection TitleJames Edward Myers Sheet Music Collection, 1836-1986
CollectionJames Edward Myers World War I Sheet Music Collection

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