'"Hello Central! Give Me No Man's Land" is a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

era song released in 1918. Lyrics were written by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young.

Jean Schwartz Jean Schwartz (November 4, 1878 – November 30, 1956) was a Hungarian-born Jewish American composer and pianist. He is best known for his work writing the scores for more than 30 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals, and for his creation of more t ...

composed the music. The song was published by Waterson Berlin & Snyder, Co. of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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, which features a photo of

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

next to a shadow of a child on the phone. Explosions in No Man's Land take up the rest of the red background. The song was written for both voice and piano. It was first introduced in the 1918 musical ''

Sinbad Sinbad the Sailor (; or Sindbad) is a fictional mariner and the hero of a story-cycle. He is described as hailing from Baghdad during the early Abbasid Caliphate (8th and 9th centuries A.D.). In the course of seven voyages throughout the sea ...

''. 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 research library for the study of military history located in a state-of-the art facility in Kenosha, WI. The institution was founded in 2003, ...

. The song tells the story of a child attempting to call her father in No man's land (the phrase "Hello, central" was used when addressing the switchboard operator; in those days, callers would call a switchboard and ask to be manually connected to their party). She is unable to reach him over the telephone because her father has been killed fighting on the Western Front. The chorus is as follows: :''"Hello Central! Give me No Man's Land,'' :''My daddy's there, my mamma told me;'' :''She tip-toed off to bed'' :''After prayers were said;'' :''Don't ring when you get the number,'' :''Or you'll disturb mamma's slumber'' :''I'm afraid to stand here at the 'phone'' :''Cause I'm alone.'' :''So won't you hurry;'' :''I want to know why mama starts to weep'' :''When I say, 'Now I lay me down to sleep';'' :''Hello Central! Give me No Man's Land."''

References

firstworldwar.com

External links

Albums "Hello Central! Give Me No Man's Land" can be found on
1918 songs Songs of World War I Songs with music by Jean Schwartz Songs with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis Songs with lyrics by Joe Young (lyricist) {{1910s-song-stub