First World War.com - Vintage Audio - Keep The Trench Fires Going For The Boys Out There

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Henry Burr Vintage Audio: Keep The Trench Fires Going For The Boys Out There
Updated - Sunday, 9 March, 2003

Composed by Harry von Tilzer (music) and Eddie Moran (lyrics) and published by von Tilzer's own publishing company, Keep the Trench Fires Going for the Boys Out There was an unabashed patriotic recruiting song from 1918. The lyrics to the song are reproduced below.

Click here to listen to a version of the song performed by Henry Burr with the Peerless Quartet in 1918 (MP3 format 1,034kb)

Keep The Trench Fires Going For The Boys Out There

First Verse:
Uncle Sammy's boys are somewhere over there in France
Someone's going to know they're in a fight.
Uncle Sammy's boys are not afraid to take a chance
When they're fighting for a cause that's right.
But while Uncle Sammy's boys are fighting brave and true,
There's something too that we have got to do.

Chorus (sung twice after each verse):
Keep the Trench-fires going for the boys out there.
Let's play fair, do our share.
Our boys are fighting for you and me, can't you see?
For you and me and Liberty.
Let's make a showing while they're o'er the foam,
Do your bit and bring them home.
Keep the Trench-fires going for the boys out there.
Let ev’ry son of Uncle Sammy do his share.

Second Verse:
Uncle Sammy’s boys are going over there to win
Someone will be wiser when they’re thro’.
Uncle Sammy’s boys are going right into Berlin,
Then they'll tell the Kaiser what to do.
But if we want Uncle Sammy's boys to finish strong,
It's up to us to help the boys along.

A "Dixie" (from the Hindi degci) was an army cooking pot.