I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier

AKA A mother’s plea for peace
I didn’t raise my son to be a soldier
First Published 1915
Lyrics Arthur Bryan Music Al. Piantadosi Roud V53403

Music Hall performers Gene Greene, 1910s USA
Peerless Quartet, 1910s USA
Folk performances Hamish Imlach 1985
Sandra Kerr, ??		 

1916 version
Ten million soldiers to the war have gone,
Who may never return again.
Ten million mothers' hearts must break
For the ones who died in vain.
Head bowed down in sorrow
In her lonely years,
I heard a mother murmur thru' her tears:

I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier,
I brought him up to be my pride and joy.
Who dares to place a musket on his shoulder,
To shoot some other mother's darling boy?
Let nations arbitrate their future troubles,
It's time to lay the sword and gun away.
There'd be no war today,
If mothers all would say,
"I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier."

What victory can cheer a mother's heart,
When she looks at her blighted home?
What victory can bring her back
All she cared to call her own?
Let each mother answer
In the years to be,
Remember that my boy belongs to me!

Hamish Imlach version with lyrics by Ewan McVicar. 
I  didn't raise my son to be a soldier
I brought him up to be my pride and joy
Who dares to put a musket on his shoulder
To shoot another mother's darling boy
Why should he fight in someone else's quarrels
It's time to throw the sword and gun away
There would be no war today
If the nations all would say
No I didn't raise my son to be a soldier

I didn't raise my son to be a soldier
To go fighting in some far-off foreign land
He may get killed before he's any older
For a cause that he will never understand
Why should he fight another rich man's battle
While they stay at home and while their time away
Let those with most to lose
Fight each other if they choose
For I didn't raise my son to be a soldier

I didn't raise my son to be a soldier
To go fighting heathens round the Horn
If God required to prove that boys are bolder
They'd have uniforms and guns when they were born
Why should we have wars about religion
When Jesus came to teach us not to kill
Do Zulus and Hindoos
Not have the right to choose
For I didn't raise my son to be a soldier

I didn't raise my son to be a soldier
I raised him up to be a gentleman
To find a sweet young girl and love and hold her
Bring me some grandchildren when they can
Why can't we decide that the Empire
Is just as large as it requires to be
And I'd rather lose it all
Than to see my laddie fall
For I didn't raise my son to be a soldier

As I sing it:
 I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier
 I raised him up to be my pride and joy
 Why should he put a rifle to his shoulder
 To kill some other mothers darling boy
 Let nations arbitrate their future troubles
 it’s time to throw the sword and gun away
 There would be no war today
 If mothers all would say
 I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier

 I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier
 To go fighting in some far off foreign land
 He may get killed before he’s any older
 For a cause that he may never understand
 Why should he fight another rich man’s battle
 While they stay at home and stow their gold away
 let those with wealth to lose
 Fight each other if they choose
 I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier

 I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier
 To kill other sons and daughters in a war
 If God required to prove that boys are bolder
 They’d have uniforms and guns when they are born
 They pretend we have these wars about religion
 When Jesus came to teach us not to kill
 Christians Muslims or Hindus
 Those boys have all got mothers too
 I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier

 I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier
 I raised him up to be a gentle man
 to find someone to love and to hold them
 and bring me some grandchildren if they want
 why can’t we all agree that empires
 Should be relics of our ancient history
 let’s just forget them all
 Let’s not see our children fall
 I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier
 
  
         

Hamish Imlach suggested that his version was an adaption of a British anti-war song from the time of the Boer War. This may be true, but I haven’t found any evidence as yet, and all the Music Hall sources are adamant that it was written around the time of the First World War by Bryan and Piantodosi.

So this appears to be an American vaudeville song, until someone shows me different! It was a big hit in 1916 in America reflecting a strong current of isolationist anti-war opinion, partly from the American South, and partly from a large population of Republican Irish and German émigrés. It was most associated with the singing of Gene Green (sometimes Greene) a vaudeville performer based in Chicago, which had a large German – American population. Gene Greene did tour Europe in the period leading up to the First World War, but I can’t establish whether this song was sung by him or anyone else on the British music hall stage.

President Roosevelt is said to have scoffed that you might as well say “I didn’t raise my girl to be a mother”, which rather misses the point of this attempt at a feminist anti-war song. (I say “attempt” at a feminist anti-war song as it was mostly sung and written by men, as far as I can see, and I’m not sure that it should just be mothers that oppose War.) I’ve recently discovered that Sandra Kerr sings a version of this song – see below!

Peerless Quartet’s recording:

The excellent Sandra Kerr sings something close to Hamish Imlach’s version: