Tell My Daddy To Come Home Again

The songs sung by music hall artists during the First World War were often filled with war fever and patriotism. Propaganda messages promoted through song could appeal both emotionally as well as rationally and had the added benefit of being easily remembered and repeated by the average citizen. Tell My Daddy to Come Home Again: The Evening News Lonely Soldiers Song, recorded by Stanely Kirkby in 1915, is one such song, with lyrics written from the perspective of a child lamenting their father who has gone off to war.

Stanley Kirkby was an English baritone who sang mostly in music halls but was also a popular recording artist. Joseph Tabrar was one of England’s most prolific music hall songwriters, more famous for his song, Daddy Wouldn’t Buy Me a Bow-Wow (1892).