Keep the Home-Fires Burning ('Till the Boys Come Home) is a British patriotic First World War song composed in 1914 by Ivor Novello

Ivor Novello

David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...

 with words by Lena Gilbert Ford (whose middle name was sometimes printed as "Guilbert").

The song was published first as 'Till the Boys Come Home on October 8, 1914 by Ascherberg, Hopwood, and Crew Ltd. in London.
A new edition was printed in 1915 with the name Keep the Home-Fires Burning. The song became very popular in the United Kingdom during the war, along with It's a Long Way to Tipperary

It's a Long Way to Tipperary

It's a Long Way to Tipperary is a British music hall and marching song written by Jack Judge and co-credited to, but not co-written by, Henry James "Harry" Williams. It was allegedly written for a 5 shilling bet in Stalybridge on 30 January 1912 and performed the next night at the local music hall...

.

James F. Harrison recorded Keep the Home-Fires Burning in 1915, as did Stanley Kirkby

Stanley Kirkby

Stanley Kirkby was a British music hall singer at the beginning of the twentieth century. He was particularly well-known for a series of songs he sang during the First World War, such as "Boys of the Dardanelles", a patriotic song, "Tell my Daddy to come home again", a sentimental treatment of how...

 in 1916. Another popular recording was sung by tenor John McCormack in 1917, who was also the first to record It's a Long Way to Tipperary in 1914. (See External links below to hear these recordings of Keep the Home-Fires Burning.)

Lyrics

They were summoned from the hillside,

They were called in from the glen,

And the country

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

 found them ready

At the stirring call for men.

Let no tears add to their hardships

As the soldiers pass along,

And although your heart is breaking,

Make it sing this cheery song:

Keep the Home Fires Burning,

While your hearts are yearning.

Though your lads are far away

They dream of home.

There's a silver lining

Through the dark clouds shining,

Turn the dark cloud inside out

Till the boys come home.

Overseas there came a pleading,

"Help a nation in distress

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

."

And we gave our glorious laddies -

Honour bade us do no less,

For no gallant son of Britain

To a tyrant's yoke shall bend,

And no Englishman is silent

To the sacred call of "Friend."

Keep the Home Fires Burning,

While your hearts are yearning.

Though your lads are far away

They dream of home.

There's a silver lining

Through the dark clouds shining,

Turn the dark cloud inside out

'Til the boys come home.

Cultural references

• The song was included in the 1969 musical Oh What a Lovely War
  Oh What a Lovely War
  Oh What a Lovely War may refer to one of a number of fictional works:* Oh, What a Lovely War! - a stage musical created in 1963 by Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop...
  
  and in the 1970 musical film Darling Lili
  Darling Lili
  Darling Lili is a 1970 American musical film. The screenplay was written by William Peter Blatty and Blake Edwards, who also directed. The cast included Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, and Jeremy Kemp.-Plot:...
  
  .

• The song is featured in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire
  Chariots of Fire
  Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
  
  .

• In the 2002 film Gosford Park
  Gosford Park
  Gosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon...
  
  , the guests at a country house are entertained by Novello (played by Jeremy Northam
  Jeremy Northam
  Jeremy Philip Northam is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Ivor Novello in the 2001 film Gosford Park, as Dean Martin in the 2002 television movie Martin and Lewis, and as Thomas More on the Showtime series The Tudors...
  
  ), who performs the song on the piano

• In the film Johnny Got His Gun (film)
  Johnny Got His Gun (film)
  Johnny Got His Gun is a 1971 anti-war film based on the novel of the same name written and directed by Dalton Trumbo and starring Timothy Bottoms, Jason Robards and Donald Sutherland with Diane Varsi...
  
   and the Metallica
  Metallica
  Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
  
   music video of One
  One (Metallica song)
  "One" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the third and final single from their fourth album ...And Justice for All. "One" was also the band's first Top 40 hit single, reaching number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100...
  
  .

• Featured in the Sean O'Casey
  Seán O'Casey
  Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.- Early life:...
  
   play The Plough and the Stars.

• The last refrain is sung by the employees of Are you being served?
  Are You Being Served?
  Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...
  
  in the episode "Camping In."

• The main chorus is sung by the cast of M*A*S*H in Episode 127 (Season 5) "War of Nerves" during a stress relief "bon-type-fire"

External links

• "'Till The Boys Come Home", James F. Harrison (Edison Blue Amberol 2773, 1915)—Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project.
• Vintage Audio: Keep The Home Fires Burning—www.firstworldwar.com (1917 McCormack recording and 1916 Kirkby recording).