LITTLE BOY BLUE
(Poem: Eugene Field / Music: Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin)

John McCormack - 1916
Lucy Reed - 1957
John Aler - 1995

Also recorded by: Heather MacRae; Evan Williams;
Harry Macdonough; Elisabeth Spencer; Anna Case.



The little toy dog is covered with dust
But sturdy and stanch he stands
And the little toy soldier is red with rust
And his musket moulds in his hands

Time was when the little toy dog was new
And the soldier was passing fair
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there

"Now, don't you go till I come," he said,
"And don't you make any noise!"
So, toddling off to his trundle-bed
He dreamt of the pretty toys

And, as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our Little Boy Blue
Oh! the years are many, the years are long
But the little toy friends are true

Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand
Each in the same old place
Awaiting the touch of a little hand
The smile of a little face

And they wonder, as waiting the long years through
In the dust of that little chair
What has become of our Little Boy Blue
Since he kissed them and put them there