"Cheer Up, Mother" is a
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
era song released in 1918.
Mary Earl composed the music and wrote the lyrics.
of
New York, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...
published the song. Artist
Albert Wilfred Barbelle
Albert Wilfred Barbelle (1887–1957) was an American artist known well for his work in advertising, particularly cover art for sheet music of Tin Pan Alley. He also illustrated the first Mickey Mouse book.
Early life
Albert Wilfred Barbelle wa ...
designed the sheet music cover. It features a mother saying good-bye to her soldier son. It was written for both voice and piano.
In the song, a son is comforting his mother before he heads off to war. The chorus is as follows:
:''"Cheer up, mother, smile and don't be sighing''
:''Dry the teardrop in your eye;''
:''We'll come back with colors flying''
:''After the war clouds roll by,''
:''Homeward bound then''
:''We'll come sailing, mother.''
:''We will win out, never fear;''
:''Dad came home from fields of glory,''
:''Maybe I'll repeat his story,''
:''So cheer up, mother dear."''
The sheet music can be found at
Pritzker Military Museum & Library
The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and a research library for the study of military history on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The institution was founded in 2003, and its spe ...
.
References
Songs about mothers
Songs about parting
Songs about soldiers
1918 songs
Songs of World War I
Songs written by Robert A. King (composer)
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