MUSIC AND CONFLICT:
FROM PATRIOTISM TO PROTEST
World War I Full Song Lyrics
(as referenced on the World War I page)
Over There
by Geoge M. Cohan
Over There
Johnnie, get your gun,
Get your gun, get your gun,
Take it on the run,
On the run, on the run.
Hear them calling, you and me,
Every son of liberty.
Hurry right away,
No delay, go today,
Make your daddy glad
To have had such a lad.
Tell your sweetheart not to pine,
To be proud her boy's in line.
(chorus sung twice)
Johnnie, get your gun,
Get your gun, get your gun,
Johnnie show the Hun
Who's a son of a gun.
Hoist the flag and let her fly,
Yankee Doodle do or die.
Pack your little kit,
Show your grit, do your bit.
Yankee to the ranks,
From the towns and the tanks.
Make your mother proud of you,
And the old Red, White and Blue.
(chorus sung twice)
Chorus
Over there, over there,
Send the word, send the word over there -
That the Yanks are coming,
The Yanks are coming,
The drums rum-tumming
Ev'rywhere.
So prepare, say a pray'r,
Send the word, send the word to beware.
We'll be over, we're coming over,
And we won't come back till it's over
Over there.
Don't Take My Darling Boy Away
by Will Dillon
Don't Take My Darling Boy Away
A mother was kneeling to pray
For loved ones at war far away
And there by her side, her one joy and pride,
knelt down with her that day
Then came a knock on the door
Your boy is commanded to war
"No Captain please, here on my knees,
I plead for one I adore"
Don't take my darling boy away from me,
Don't send him off to war
You took his father and brothers three,
Now you've come back for more
Who are the heroes that fight your war
Mothers who have no say
But my duty's done so for god's sake leave one!
And don't take my darling boy away.
Tenting tonight, Tenting tonight
Tenting on the old campground
You took his father and brothers three,
Now you've come back for more
Tenting tonight, Tenting tonight
Tenting on the old campground
But my duty's done so for god's sake leave one!
And don't take my darling boy away.
A hero is now laid to rest, A hero and one of the best
He fought with each son, The battles he'd won,
And the battles that proved a test
Though she never went to the war,
She was a hero by far, they gave a gun
But who gave a son,
M. O. T. H. E. R.
Don't take my darling boy away from me,
Don't send him off to war
You took his father and brothers three,
Now you've come back for more
Who are the heroes that fight your war
Mothers who have no say
But my duty's done so for god's sake leave one!
And don't take my darling boy away.
Tenting tonight, Tenting tonight
Tenting on the old campground