~ 720th Military Police Battalion Reunion Association History Project ~

"I Didn't Raise My Boy to be a Soldier"

       Preformed by ED. Morton, Lyrics by Alfred Bryan, Music by Al Piantadosi. First written and sung by the British in protest to that Empire's wars around the turn of the century. The song was revived (new lyrics) for WW-I. It then became "Americanized," and was used to protest the USA being engaged in the WW-I.
Ten mil - lion sol-diers to the war have gone
who may nev - er re-turn a - gain.
Ten mil - lion moth - er's hearts
must break for the ones who died in vain
Head bowed down in sor - row in her lone - ly years,
I heard a moth - er mur - mer through her tears:

"I did -n't raise my boy to be a sol - dier,
I brought him up to be my pride and joy.
Who dares to place a mus - ket on his shoul - der
to shoot some oth - er moth -er's dar - ling boy?"

Let na - tions ar - bi - trate their fu-ture trou - bles.
It's time to lay the sword and gun a - way.
There'd be no war to - day if moth - ers all would say,
"I did -n't raise my boy to be a sol - dier"

What vic - tor - y can cheer a moth - er's heart
when she looks at her blight - ed home?
What vic - tor - y can bring her back
all she cared to call her own?

Let each moth - er an - swer in the year to be,
"Re - mem - ber that my boy be - longs to me!"

"I did -n't raise my boy to be a sol - dier,
I brought him up to be my pride and joy.
Who dares to place a mus - ket on his shoul - der
to shoot some oth - er moth -er's dar - ling boy?"

Let na - tions ar - bi - trate their fu-ture trou - bles.
It's time to lay the sword and gun a - way.
There'd be no war to - day if moth - ers all would say,
"I did -n't raise my boy to be a sol - dier"

        By 1915, Americans began debating the need for military and economic preparations for war. Strong opposition to “preparedness” came from isolationists, socialists, pacifists, many Protestant ministers, German Americans, and Irish Americans (who were hostile to Britain). The song captured widespread American skepticism about joining in the European war.

Meanwhile, interventionists and militarists like former president Theodore Roosevelt beat the drums for preparedness.
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