First World War.com - Vintage Audio - America Here's My Boy

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Sheet music to "America Here's My Boy" Vintage Audio: America Here's My Boy
Updated - Saturday, 12 June, 2004

Reproduced below is a song recorded by the Peerless Quartet, America Here's My Boy (words by Andrew B. Sterling, music by Arthur Lange).

Published in New York in 1917 in the aftermath of U.S. entry into the war in April 1917 it comprised a straightforward call to American patriotism.

Click here to listen to a recording of the Peerless Quartet's rendition of the song from 1918 (MP3 format 2,543kb)

America Here's My Boy

First Verse
There’s a million mothers knocking at the nations door,
A million mothers, yes and there’ll be millions more,
And while within each mother heart they pray,
Just hark what one brave mother has to say.

Second Verse
There’s a million mothers waiting by the fireside bright,
A million mothers, waiting for the call tonight.
And while within each heart there’ll be a tear,
She’ll watch her boy go marching with a cheer.

Chorus
America, I raised a boy for you.
America, You’ll find him staunch and true,
Place a gun upon his shoulder,
He is ready to die or do.
America, he is my only one; My hope, my pride and joy,
But if I had another, he would march beside his brother;
America, here’s my boy.

"ANZAC" was coined in 1915 from the initials of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.