Just Before the Battle, Mother

"Just before the Battle, Mother" was a popular song during the American Civil War, particularly among troops in the Union Army.

It was also a popular song with adherents of the Primrose League in England, and was a central part of Victoria Day celebrations in Canada during the late 19th and early-to-mid 20th centuries.

Comrades brave are 'round me lying, Filled with thoughts of home and God For well they know that on the morrow, Some will sleep beneath the sod.

[1] The first verse of the Song of the Coward, as it was known, can be dated to 1864[2] after several calamitous defeats at the hands of the Confederate army.

[3] Just before the battle mother I was drinking mountain dew When I heard the sound of gunfire To the rear I quickly flew Where the stragglers were all gathered Thinking of their home and wives Twas not the Rebs we feared dear mother But our own dear precious lives