So Long, Mother Explained

So Long, Mother
Cover:	So long, mother.jpg
Type:	song
Released:	1917
Composer:	Egbert Van Alstyne
Lyricist:	Raymond B. Egan, Gus Kahn

"So Long, Mother" is a World War I era song released in 1917. Raymond B. Egan and Gus Kahn wrote the lyrics. Egbert Van Alstyne composed the music.^[1] The song was published by Jerome H. Remick & Co. of Detroit, Michigan. On the cover is a soldier and mother in an embrace. Adjacent is an inset photo of singer Al Jolson.^[2] It was written for both voice and piano.^[3]

The song is told from the soldier's point of view as he comforts his heavyhearted mother before he leaves for war. The chorus is as follows:^[4]

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

External links

• View the song MP3 and sheet music here.

Notes and References

1. Book: Vogel . Frederick G. . 1995 . World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic Tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics . Jefferson . McFarland & Company, Inc. . 236 . 0-89950-952-5.
2. Book: Parker . Bernard . 2007 . 2 . World War I Sheet music . Jefferson . McFarland & Company, Inc. . 590 . 978-0-7864-2799-4.
3. Web site: So long, mother . . Duke University libraries: Digital Collections . Duke University . 25 February 2016.
4. Web site: So long, mother . . Library of Congress . 25 February 2016.
5. Book: So long, mother: Al Jolson's mother song . . 1917 . OCLC WorldCat . 19956744 . 25 February 2016.