Ireland Must Be Heaven, For My Mother Came from There

DESCRIPTION: "I've often heard my daddy peak of Ireland's lakes and dells. The place must be like heaven if it's half like what he tells." As proof he offers the fact that his mother was an angel, and she came from Ireland
AUTHOR: Words: Joe McCarthy & Howard Johnson / Music: Fred Fisher
EARLIEST DATE: 1916 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: Ireland home
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Dean-FlyingCloud, p. 9, "Ireland Must Be Heaven, For My Mother Came from There" (1 text)
Roud #5493
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "A Little Bit of Heaven" (theme)
NOTES [145 words]: This was apparently one of the major hits of 1916, the year it was published, though Dean seems to be the only traditional performer to have learned it.
According to Jasen, pp. 124-125, composer Fred Fisher (1875-1942) was also responsible for the tunes, and sometimes lyrics as well, for such hits as "Come, Josephine, in My Flying Machine," "Peg o' My Heart," "Fifty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong," and "Chicago [that toddlin' town]." Jasen claimes his biggest hit was "Dardanella," for which he wrote just the words, and which I've never heard of.
Williams, pp. 216-217, says that this song was eventually featured in the movie "Oh You Beautiful Doll."
Gardner, p. 312, estimates that this was the ninth most popular song in America in 1916, peaking at #2 in November 1916 (#1 for the year being Gus Kahn, Tony Jackson, and Egbert van Alstyne's "Pretty Baby"). - RBW
Bibliography

Jasen: David A. Jasen, Tin Pan Alley: The Composers, the Songs, the Performers and their Times: The Golden Age of American Popular Music from 1886 to 1956, Primus, 1988
Gardner: Edward Foote Gardner, Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century: Volume I -- Chart Detail & Encyclopedia 1900-1949, Paragon House, 2000
Williams: William H. A. Williams, 'Twas Only an Irishman's Dream, University of Illinois Press, 1996

Last updated in version 6.5
File: Dean009

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