Goodbye, Ma! Goodbye, Pa! Goodbye, Mule, with Yer Old Hee-Haw!

"Goodbye, Ma! Goodbye, Pa! Goodbye, Mule, with Yer Old Hee-Haw!", also known as "Long Boy", is a World War I era song released in 1917. William Herschel wrote the lyrics. Barclay Walker composed the music.[1][2] It was published by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. of New York, New York. Garr Williams designed the sheet music cover. It features a morose-looking cartoon soldier leaving his farm. Farm animals, the soldier's parents, and his girlfriend look on and wave flags.[3] It was written for both voice and piano.[4]

"Goodbye, Ma! Goodbye, Pa! Goodbye, Mule, with Yer Old Hee-Haw!: Long Boy"
Sheet music cover at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library
Song
Released1917
LabelShapiro, Bernstein & Co.
Songwriter(s)Composer: Barclay Walker
Lyricist: William Herschel

The lyrics take on a humorous tone. It tells the story of a very thin "country gink," who leaves his farm duties behind to enlist in the army. The chorus is his farewell to his parents and "sweetheart":[2][1]

Good-by, Ma!
Good-by, Pa!
Goody-by Mule, with yer old hee haw!
I may not know what the war's about
But you bet, by gosh, I'll soon find out
An' o' Sweetheart, don't fear
I'll bring you a King fer a souvenir
I'll git you a Turk an' a Kaiser too
An' that's about all one feller could do!

The sheet music can be found at Pritzker Military Museum & Library.[5]

References
  1. Vogel, Frederick G. (1995). World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 61, 181. ISBN 0-89950-952-5.
  2. "Long Boy (Good-Bye, Ma! Good-Bye, Pa! Good-Bye, Mule With Yer Old Hee-Haw!)". University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. University of Illinois. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  3. Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music. 1. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 383. ISBN 978-0-7864-2798-7.
  4. "Long boy; Good-bye, Ma! Good-bye, Pa! Good-bye, mule". Duke University Libraries Digital Collections. Duke University. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  5. Long boy. OCLC WorldCat. OCLC WorldCat. OCLC 70688123. Retrieved 1 March 2016.


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