The
full version of this file is available
on CD0100.
This CD contains more than 34 hours of
historical audio.
Break The News
to Mother was written by Charles K. Harris in 1891.
It was originally about a fireman. After the tragedy
of the USS Maine explosion in Havana Harbor in
1897, Harris rewrote the song and substituted a soldier
in place of the fireman. Though the song is often presented
as a Civil War song, the popular version of the song
is really a Spanish-American War song.