Keep the Love-Light Burning in the Window Till the Boys Come Marching Home

Keep the Love-Light Burning in the Window Till the Boys Come Marching Home is a World War I song with music and lyrics by Jack Caddigan and Jimmy McHugh.[1][2] It was first published in May, 1917, a month after the United States entered World War I, by D. W. Cooper Publishing Co., in Boston, MA.[3] By October, Chappell & Co. had brought suit, alleging that the title and refrain violated copyright on the British song, "Keep the Home-Fires Burning". Cooper settled out of court by agreeing to release a second edition, copyrighted October 23, 1917, with revised lyrics and the title "Keep the Love-Light Shining in the Window". In the meantime, Jos. W. Stern & Co. had acquired sole selling rights, and its imprint, along with Cooper's, appeared on the new version.[4] A final edition, issued after Stern & Co. actually acquired the copyright, appeared in 1918.[5]

"Keep the Love-Light Burning in the Window Till the Boys Come Marching Home"
Sheet music cover, first edition
Song
LanguageEnglish
Published1917
Songwriter(s)Jack Caddigan and Jimmy McHugh

The publishing history, as well as the number of surviving copies (at, for instance, the Pritzker Military Museum & Library),[6] suggests that the song achieved national success, although it was never recorded and no piano rolls were made. It was popular with amateurs,[7] and Jos. W. Stern & Co. promoted it vigorously, if briefly.[8] By summer 1918, however, it had receded from view, to be supplanted two years later by a nearly identical title, "Keep the Lovelight Burning", by Billy Baskette.

References

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  1. ^ Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I sheet music : 9,670 patriotic songs published in the United States, 1914-1920, with more than 600 covers illustrated. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 9780786427987. OCLC 71790113.
  2. ^ 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. p. 201. ISBN 0-89950-952-5. OCLC 32241433.
  3. ^ "Keep the Love-Light Burning in the Window Till the Boys Come Marching Home". IN Harmony sheet music archive. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Keep the Love-Light Shining in the Window". World War I Sheet Music. Library of Congress. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Keep the Love-Light Shining in the Window". World War I Sheet Music. Brown University Library. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  6. ^ Caddigan, Jack, W. C. H., and Jimmy McHugh (1917). "Keep the lovelight burning in the window 'till the boys come home". Boston, Mass: D. W. Cooper Pub. Co. OCLC 20119388.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ See, for instance, "The Okanogan Reception". The Oroville weekly gazette. (Oroville, Wash.), 12 Oct. 1917. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  8. ^ Advertisement, Jos. W. Stern, "Open House to all Writers!". Variety, 9 November 1917, p. 27. Retrieved 17 August 2016.