Uncle Sammy, Take Care of My Girl

Uncle Sammy, Take Care of My Girl is a World War I song released in 1918. Betty Morgan wrote the lyrics. Jimmie Morgan composed the music.[1] The song was published by F.J.A. Forster of Chicago. On the cover of the sheet music is a soldier in a trench, writing a letter. The smoke of the fire has a drawing of Uncle Sam reading the letter to a woman. There is also a photo of the lyricist and composer. Artist Dan Sweeney designed the cover.[2] Another version of the cover shows a soldier in the upper right-hand side, writing a letter. In the lower left corner, Uncle Sam offers the letter to a woman. A photo of the lyricist and composer are also featured on the cover. It was written for both voice and piano.[3]

"Uncle Sammy, Take Care of My Girl"
Song
Released1918
LabelForster Music Publisher, Inc.
Composer(s)Jimmie Morgan
Lyricist(s)Betty Morgan

The song is written from the first-person point of view of someone who recently read a soldier's letter. It was addressed to Uncle Sam. The chorus contains the pleas of the letter:[1]

"Uncle Sammy, take care of my girl
While I'm over there,
Please treat her fair;
I'll do my bit and I won't mind
As long as you are kind
To the girl I left behind
I'll be thinking of her ev'ry day.
She's more precious to me than a pearl
And it may be some time
Before we get to the Rhine;
So, Uncle Sammy, take care of my girl."

The sheet music can be found at Pritzker Military Museum & Library.[4]

References

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  1. ^ 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: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 253, 375. ISBN 0-89950-952-5.
  2. ^ Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music. Vol. 2. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 729. ISBN 978-0-7864-2799-4.
  3. ^ "Uncle Sammy take care of my girl". Library of Congress. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  4. ^ Uncle Sammy take care of my girl. OCLC 33308655. Retrieved 25 January 2015 – via OCLC WorldCat.