World War I
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Edgar Leslie
Edgar Leslie (December 31, 1885 – January 22, 1976) was an American songwriter.
Biography
Edgar Leslie was born in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1885. He studied at the Cooper Union in New York. He published his first song in 1909, starting a lo ...
wrote the lyrics.
Harry Ruby
Harry Rubenstein (January 27, 1895 – February 23, 1974), known professionally as Harry Ruby, was an American actor, pianist, composer, songwriter and screenwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.Waterson, Berlin & Snyder Co. of
New York, New York
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. 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.
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Albert Wilfred Barbelle wa ...
designed the sheet music cover. It features a nurse in the foreground, and soldiers marching behind her. It was written for both voice and piano.
The lyrics claim that French girls were only thought of as "something to fondle and then to forget," but their actions during the war has proven this wrong. The chorus is as follows:
:''Girls of France, girls of France,''
:''We're mighty proud of you;''
:''When shadows fell and all was dark''
:''You led your sons like Joan of Arc.''
:''We know our brothers will never fell blue,''
:''They'll find a sister in each of you.''
:''Brave and true,''
:''Beautiful, too,''
:''Wonderful girls of France.''
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 ...