228
The Dying Soldier to His Mother
"The Dying Soldier to His Mother. Words by Thomas Mac-
Kellar. Music by William U. Butcher" is one of five hundred
illustrated ballads, lithographed and printed by Charles Magnus,
New York, for Union soldiers during the Civil War. It appears in
Beadle's Dime Songster No. 11 (New York, 1863), pp. 38-39. The
song was extensively parodied, as in 'The Bounty Jumper,' a broad-
side in the Burton collection (see 'The Cumberland'), and 'Skedad-
dling Song' (ibid.).
'On the Field of Battle, Mother.' From a manuscript in a hand identified
by Dr. Brown elsewhere as "Miss Robbins — Civil War Song?" On that
identification, then, from Miss Jewell Robbins, Pekin, Montgomery
county.
1 On the field of battle, mother.
All the night alone I lay ;
Angels watching o'er me, mother,
Till the breaking of the day.
2 I lay thinking of you, mother.
And the loving ones at home,
Till to our dear cottage, mother,
Boy again I seemed to come.
3 He to whom you taught me, mother,
On my infant knees to pray
Kept my heart from fainting, mother,
Till the vision passed away.
* "Navy."
NATIVE AMERICAN BALLADS 535
4 Kiss for me my little brother,
Kiss my sister loved so well ;
When you sit together, mother,
Tell them how their brother fell.
5 Tell to them the story, mother,
When I sleep beneath the sod,
How I died to save my country,
All for love of them and God.
6 I must soon be going, mother.
Going to that home of rest.
Kiss me as of old, my mother.
Press me nearer to your breast.
7 Would I could repay you, mother,
For your tender love and care.
God uphold and bless you, mother,
In the bitter woe you hear [bear?].
8 Leaning on the merits, mother,
Of the One who died for all,
Peace is in my bosom, mother ;
Hark ! I hear the angels call.
9 Don't you hear them singing, mother?
Listen to their music swell.
Now I leave you, loving mother ;
God be with you, fare you well.
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228
The Dying Soldier to His Mother
'On the Field of Battle, Mother.' Sung by Miss Jewell Robbins. Recorded at
Pekin, Montgomery county, between 1921 and 1924. The structure of this tune
requires two of the stanzas as printed in II 534-5- This would leave stanza 9
incomplete. According to J. H. Cox (FSS) both words and music are by Geo.
F. Root and were published by Root and Cady, Chicago (copyright 1862) under
the title 'Just Before the Battle, Mother.' Our text, however, is very different.
Scale : Heptachordal, plagal. Tonal Center : g. Structure : aaiba^ (4>4,4-4) =
Reprisenbar.
228(1)
'On the Field of Battle, Mother.' Sung by Miss Jewell Robbins. Recorded at
Pekin, Montgomery county, between 1921 and 1924. The variations below come
from a second recording of the preceding tune as sung by the same singer at a
later date.
The analysis given for the first version applies also for the second.