It was inspired by Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly and contains a brief musical quote from the Act two duet Tutti i fior in the verse.

The music was written by Raymond Hubbell, the lyrics by John L. Golden.

The two biggest hit versions in 1917 were recorded by Elsie Baker (using the pseudonym Edna Brown) and by the Victor Military Band.

Another version which received a significant amount of popularity[1] was by Grace Kerns recording under the name Catherine[4] (or Katherine[1]) Clark.

[5] An arrangement for violin and orchestra was recorded by Fritz Kreisler on March 1, 1917, and issued on Victor as catalog number 64555.