Dear Old Pal of Mine 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 ...
song written by
Harold Robe and
Gitz Rice. The song was first published in 1916 by
G. Ricordi & Co. in New York, NY.
Irish tenor
John McCormack earned the nickname the "Singing Prophet of Victory" by popularizing this wartime song. It was in the top 20 from January to March 1919 and reached number 10 in February.
The idea for the song, according to an editorial note on the sheet music, was conceived by Rice while on sentry duty at the front lines at
Ypres
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.
[Hayes, Florence."Dear Old Pal of Mine" The Canadian Encyclopedia. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2 July 2006. Web. 07 June 2016. .]
References
Bibliography
*Parker, Bernard S. ''World War I Sheet Music 1.'' Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2007. .
*Paas, John Roger. 2014. ''America sings of war: American sheet music from World War I''. .
*Tyler, Don. ''Hit songs, 1900-1955: American popular music of the pre-rock era.'' Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2007. .
*Vogel, Frederick G. ''World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic Tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics''. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1995. .
External links
Sheet music and Song MP3 at the Illinois Digital Archive
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Songs about friendship
Songs about loneliness
1916 songs
Songs of World War I
Songs written by Gitz Rice