Little Lost Child, The

DESCRIPTION: "A passing policeman found a little child... Says to her kindly, you must not cry; I'll find your mother by and by." At the station he realizes she is his daughter Jennie, with whose mother he had quarreled. When the mother arrives, they are reconciled
AUTHOR: Words: Edward B. Marks / Music: Joseph W. Stern
EARLIEST DATE: 1894 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: father mother reunion children
FOUND IN: US(Ro,So)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Randolph 728, "The Lost Child" (1 text)
Hubbard-BalladsAndSongsFromUtah, #102, "The Passing Policeman" (1 text)
Spaeth-ReadEmAndWeep, pp. 148-150, "The Little Lost Child" (1 text, 1 tune)
Geller-FamousSongsAndTheirStories, pp. 132-137, "The Little Lost Child" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4651
RECORDINGS:
Earl Shirkey & Roy Harper, "The Little Lost Child" (Columbia 15642-D, 1931; rec. 1929)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Little Chimney Sweep" (plot)
NOTES [182 words]: 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, p. 3, reports that "Edward B. Marks (1865-1945) was a young notions salesman who liked to write lyrics." Having published a song, "December and May," in 1893 through Frank Harding's music publishing house and being dissatisfied with the royalties, he went into business for himself. "He teamed with another salesman who could write melodies, Joseph W. Stern. They opened a small office in 1894 and issued their first collaboration, 'The Little Lost Child,' that same year. With the help of music hall singers Della Fox and Lottie Gilson, the song became a hit and established the firm of Joseph W. Stern & Company as a major voice in Tin Pan Alley. Marks also created the illustrated song slide, which was used in music theatres to help the audience visualize the lyrics through a series of action and sentimental photographs and illustrations."
The other Marks/Stein collaboration in the Index is "My Mother Was a Lady." - RBW
Last updated in version 4.2
File: R728

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography