Keep The Home Fires Burning

The patriotic song "Keep The Home Fires Burning" was composed by Ivor Novello, with words by American poet Lena Guilbert Ford. It was first published in London as " 'Til The Boys Come Home" in 1914. A new edition was printed in 1915 with the name "Keep The Home Fires Burning." It quickly established itself as an inspiring anthem during the First World War, along with "It's A Long Way To Tipperary." (If you're interested, we have a 3-part mixed arrangement of "It's A Long Way To Tipperary" which you can find in Music K-8, Vol. 33, No. 4).

Our arrangement of "Keep The Home Fires Burning" begins with just snare drums and a brass quintet, setting the scene of soldiers marching in formation. The lyrics speak of "the stirring call for men" to come and fight for their country, and for those they leave behind to try and sing a cheery song as they wait and hope for their safe return. At measure 24, the song crescendos into a full orchestra for the well-known chorus of the piece. We used the exact lyrics that Lena Guilbert Ford penned in 1914.

There are three vocal parts, but as usual, parts 2 and 3 are optional. To demonstrate how this would sound, we have included a unison version on our web site. And to help teach and learn the song, we have isolated parts 2 and 3 and put them on our web site as well. If you do use all three parts, it might be an excellent opportunity to try singing it a cappella. We've also included a demo of this online. Note that the high E-flat at the end of the piece in part 1 is optional. It could be sung an octave lower, or they could stay on the B-flat from the previous measure. Also, if some of your part 3 singers are capable of singing an E-flat below middle C, they could add that to help fill out the majestic final chord.

This would be a wonderful piece to use for a Memorial Day ceremony or concert. It would also work well in a cross curricular study of World War I, or other patriotic anthems used throughout history.