They Were All Out of Step But Jim
DESCRIPTION: "Jimmy’s mother went to see her son, Marching along on parade; In his uniform and with his gun, What a lovely picture he made." His mother is so proud of him: "Were you there, and tell me, did you notice? They were all out of step but Jim"
AUTHOR: Irving Berlin (source: sheet music)
EARLIEST DATE: 1918 (sheet music; recording, Billy Murray)
KEYWORDS: soldier humorous mother father drink
FOUND IN:
Roud #V58825
RECORDINGS:
Tom Hanford, "They Were All Out of Step But Jim" (Piotr-Archive #645, recorded 08/16/2023)
Billy Murray, "They Were All out of Step But Jim" (Victor 18465-A, 1918)
NOTES [64 words]: Edward Foote Gardner, Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century: Volume I -- Chart Detail & Encyclopedia 1900-1949, Paragon House, 2000, p. 323, estimates that this was the #27 most popular song in America in 1918, peaking at #5 in August of the year (the #1 song that year being Callahan and Roberts's "Smiles," the song with the refrain "There are smiles that make us happy....") - RBW
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