For Your Boy and My Boy
"For Your Boy and My Boy" is a 1918 song composed by Egbert Van Alstyne, with lyrics written by Gus Kahn and published by Jerome H. Remick & Co. The song was performed by Al Jolson[1] and later reached No. 4 on the top 100 US songs of 1918 with a cover by the Peerless Quartet.[2]
| "For Your Boy and My Boy" | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music cover | |
| Song | |
| Written | 1918 |
| Composer(s) | Egbert Van Alstyne |
| Lyricist(s) | Gus Kahn |
| Alternative sheet music cover | |
 | |
Cover art and analysis
The cover illustration features a soldier carrying a bayonet, with a grenade in his hand standing near a German trench ready to throw the grenade at the German soldiers.[3] A later cover features a soldier playing the bugle with "Lady Liberty" standing with her hands on his shoulders.[3]
"For Your Boy and My Boy" was originally written for a Liberty Loan drive which looked to sell bonds in order to support the allied cause during World War I. It calls upon the patriotic duty of citizens to help out the soldiers over seas by buying bonds and funding the war effort. The chorus line "Ev'ry bond that we are buying will help the boys to cross the Rhine. Buy bonds, buy bonds, for your boy and mine," is repeated throughout the song to emphasize the importance of buying bonds.[1]
See also
References
- "Music Trades". 56. Music Trades Corporation. 1918: 119. Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - "For Your Boy and My Boy". MusicVF.com. VF Entertainment. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music. 1. McFarland. p. 164. ISBN 978-0786427987. OCLC 0786427981.
External links
- Audio file of Peerless Quartet "For Your Boy and My Boy". Internet Archive. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- Cover and Sheet Music "For Your boy and My Boy". JScholarship. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
Further reading
- Vogel, Frederick G. (1995). World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic Tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics. Jefferson: McFarland and Company Inc.,Publishers. p. 312. ISBN 089950-952-5.