"It's a Long, Long Way to the U.S.A (And the Girl I Left Behind)" is a World War I era song released in 1917. Val Trainor wrote the lyrics. Harry Von Tilzer composed the music.[2] The song was published by Harry Von Tilzer Publishing Company of New York, New York.[3] It was written for both voice and piano.[4]
| "It's a Long, Long Way to the U.S.A. (And the Girl I Left Behind)" | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sheet music cover, part of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library collection | |
| Song | |
| Released | January 1, 1917[1] |
| Label | Harry Von Tilzer Publishing Company |
| Songwriter(s) | Composer: Harry Von Tilzer Lyricist: Val Trainor |
Edward H. Pfeiffer designed the sheet music cover. Pfeiffer illustrated more than 1,500 covers throughout his career.[5] This one in particular featured soldiers sitting around a campfire. One of the soldiers is dreaming about a woman, whose image is seen in the smoke clouds.[6] The title of the song was borrowed from the popular march, "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary."[7]
The song was successful in 1917. It is one of Tilzer's 22 war-inspired songs. The song tells the story of a wounded soldier giving his friend a verbal message to deliver to his "little girl" and mother. It appears as though the soldier is near death as he speaks softly and says, "Night and day how I was praying her dear face once more to see." The chorus is as follows:[8]
- "It's a long, long way to U.S.A.
- And the girl I left behind;
- And if you get back some day,
- Give my love to her and say
- That her boy was true;
- Tell dear mother, too,
- Just to always treat her kind.
- It's a long, long way to the U.S.A.
- And the girl I left behind."
The sheet music can be found at Pritzker Military Museum & Library.[9]
References edit
- ^ "It's a long, long way to the U.S.A. and the girl I left behind". Brown University Library. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ Vogel (1995) p.197 World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic Tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics (McFarland & Company, Inc.)
- ^ "It's a Long, Long Way to the U.S.A. and the Girl I Left Behind". University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ "It's a Long Long Way to the USA". Mississippi State University Library. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ Vogel (1995) p.71 World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic Tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics (McFarland & Company, Inc.)
- ^ Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music. Vol. 1. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-7864-2799-4.
- ^ Vogel (1995) p. 29 World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic Tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics (McFarland & Company, Inc.)
- ^ Vogel (1995) p. 331 World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic Tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics (McFarland & Company, Inc.)
- ^ It's a long, long way to the U.S.A. and the girl I left behind. OCLC 20119358. Retrieved 16 February 2016 – via OCLC WorldCat.
Bibliography
- 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. ISBN 0-89950-952-5
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