If I Had a Son for Each Star in Old Glory (Uncle Sam, I'd Give Them All to You!)

"If I Had a Son for Each Star in Old Glory (Uncle Sam, I'd Give Them All to You!)" is a World War I song written by James E. Dempsey and composed by Joseph A. Burke. This song was published in 1917 by Leo Feist, Inc., in New York City. The sheet music cover, illustrated by Rosenbaum Studios, features a mother looking at a picture of her son with an inset photo of Monte Austin. Other editions feature Brice and King; Buddy Clark; Ben Davis; and Florence Timponi.

"If I Had a Son for Each Star in Old Glory (Uncle Sam, I'd Give Them All to You!)"
Sheet music cover
Song
Language	English
Published	1917
Composer(s)	Joseph A. Burke
Lyricist(s)	James E. Dempsey

This song depicts the wartime sentiment of mothers expressing little concern for the lives of their sons, only the desire that they should conform to the role of protector and be the man the mother expects.

The sheet music can be found at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.

References

Bibliography

• Kingsbury, Celia Malone (2010). For Home and Country: World War I Propaganda on the Home Front. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-2474-2. OCLC 457150706.
• Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music. Vol. 1. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-2798-7. OCLC 71790113.
• Paas, John Roger, ed. (2014). America Sings of War: American Sheet Music from World War I. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-10278-0. OCLC 892462420.
• Vogel, Frederick G. (1995). World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic Tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-89950-952-5. OCLC 32241433.