“When We Were Two Little Boys”

Description

Two boys are playing; one's hobby-horse breaks; his brother says "I couldn't bear to see you crying/When there's room on my horse for two." They become soldiers; one is wounded, the other rescues him, saying "I couldn't bear to see you dying...."

Long description

Two boys are playing; one's hobby-horse breaks; his brother comforts him, saying "I couldn't bear to see you crying/When there's room on my horse for two." They grow up and become soldiers; one is wounded, the other rescues him, saying "I couldn't bear to see you dying/When there's room on my horse for two." They remember when they were two little boys

Notes

Although the text doesn't say so, this song is almost certainly set in the Civil War. - PJS

And it has the sickeningly saccharine sound of songs of that era, too. - RBW

Recordings

• Dixon Brothers, "Two Little Boys" (Montgomery Ward M-7336, c. 1937)
• Billy Murray, "When We Were Two Little Boys" (Monarch [Victor] 2468, 1903)