Goodbye, Ma! Goodbye, Pa! Goodbye, Mule, with Yer Old Hee-Haw!
| "Goodbye, Ma! Goodbye, Pa! Goodbye, Mule, with Yer Old Hee-Haw!: Long Boy" | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music cover at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library | |
| Song | |
| Released | 1917 |
| Label | Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. |
| Songwriter(s) | Composer: Barclay Walker Lyricist: William Herschel |
"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]
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[edit]
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music. Vol. 1. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 383. ISBN 978-0-7864-2798-7.
- ^ "Long boy; Good-bye, Ma! Good-bye, Pa! Good-bye, mule". Duke University Libraries Digital Collections. Duke University. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ Long boy. OCLC 70688123. Retrieved 1 March 2016 – via OCLC WorldCat.
 | This 1910s song article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |