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Alfred Bryan

1871 – 1958

Canadian songwriter

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About Alfred Bryan

Lived 1871 – 1958 (aged 86). Alfred Bryan was an American singer-songwriter, lyricist, peace activist, songwriter and librettist.

Alfred Bryan (September 15, 1871 – April 1, 1958) was a Canadian lyricist.

Bryan was born in Brantford, Ontario. He worked as an arranger in New York and wrote lyrics for many Broadway shows in the late 1910s and early 1920s; often collaborating with composer Jean Schwartz. In the 1920s he moved to Hollywood to write lyrics for screen musicals.

Bryan worked with several composers during his career. Among his collaborators were Henriette Blanke-Belcher, The song sold 650,000 copies during the first three months and became one of 1915's top-selling songs in the United States. Although Bryan himself was not a committed pacifist, he described the American public's anti-war sentiments in his lyrics. 1910 Winter (music by Albert Gumble) 1910 Put Your Head Upon my Shoulder (music by Henriette Blanke-Belcher) 1910 Come Josephine in My Flying Machine (music by Fred Fisher) 1911 My Irish Girl (music by Henriette Blanke-Belcher) 1913 Peg o' My Heart (music by Fred Fisher) 1913 I'm On My Way to Mandalay (music by Fred Fisher) 1914 Who Paid The Rent For Mrs. Rip Van Winkle? (music by Fred Fischer) 1914 Down in Waterloo. (m: Albert Gumble & Jack Wells) 1915 I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier. (m: Al. Piantadosi) 1917 Chimes of Normandy. (m: Jack Wells) 1917 Cleopatra. (m: Harry Tierney) 1917 Don't Try to Steal the Sweetheart of a Soldier. (m: Van and Schenack) 1917 For One Sweet Day. (m: Harry Tierney) 1917 Get a Girl to Lead the Army. (m: Harry Tierney) 1917 God Save Us all. (m: Harry Tierney) 1917 I Want a Good Girl and I Want Her Bad. (m: Harry Tierney) 1917 If You'll Be a Soldier I'll Be a Red Cross Nurse. (m: Harry Tierney) 1917 I'm Crazy Over Every Girl in France. (m: Pete Wendling & Jack Wells) 1917 It's Time for Every Boy to Be a Soldier. (m: Harry Tierney) 1917 Lorraine (My Beautiful Alsace Lorraine). (m: Fred Fisher) 1917 My Yokohama Girl. (m: Harry Tierney) 1917 Over the Top with Jack Wells and Pete Wendling 1917 Sweet Little Buttercup. (m: Herman Paley) 1917 There's a Vacant Chair in Every Home Tonight. (m: Ernest Breuer) 1917 Universal Peace Song God Save Us All. (m: Harry Tierney) 1917 Vegetable Song. (m: Harry Tierney) 1918 Big Chief Killahun with Edgar Leslie. (m: Maurice Abrahams) 1918 Cheer Up Father, Cheer Up Mother. (m: Herman Paley) 1918 Come Across, Yankee Boy, Come Across. (m: Fred Fisher) 1918 Comprenez-Vous Papa. (m: Ray Lawrence) 1918 Girls of France with Edgar Leslie & Harry Ruby 1918 Joan of Arc They Are Calling You with Willie Weston. (m: Jack Wells) 1918 Mister McAdoo with Joseph McCarthy. (m: Fred Fisher) 1918 Oui, Oui, Marie with Joe McCarthy. (m: Fred Fisher) 1918 Wee, Wee, Marie (Will You Do Zis for Me) with Joe McCarrthy. (m: Fred Fisher) 1918 When Alexander Takes His Ragtime Band to France with Cliff Hess & Edgar Leslie 1918 When the Boys from Dixie Eat the Melon on the Rhine. (m: Ernest Breuer) 1918 When They Do the Hula Hula on the Boulevard. (m: Ray Lawrence) 1918 White House Is the Light House of the World with Irving Caesar 1919 I'm Going to Break That Mason-Dixie Line Until I Get to That Gal of Mine. (m: Jean Schwartz) 1919 On the Road to Calais. (m: Al Jolson) 1920 Hiawatha's Melody of Love with Artie Mehlinger. (m: George W. Meyer) 1930 Twenty Swedes Ran Through the Weeds (Chasing One Norwegian) with Billy Moll 1932 She Went to Old St. Mary's and He Went to Notre Dame. (m: George W. Meyer)

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Important facts

People in Alfred Bryan's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

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Frequently asked questions

Who was Alfred Bryan?

Canadian songwriter (1871–1958)

When was Alfred Bryan born?

Alfred Bryan was born on 15 September 1871 in Brantford.

When did Alfred Bryan die?

Alfred Bryan died on 1 April 1958 in Gladstone.

What was Alfred Bryan's occupation?

Alfred Bryan was a singer-songwriter, lyricist, peace activist, songwriter and librettist.

What nationality was Alfred Bryan?

Alfred Bryan was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Alfred Bryan

· Wikidata: Q1273339

· DBpedia: Alfred Bryan (lyricist)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Alfred Bryan. https://biography.guide/alfred-bryan-singer-songwriter/

MLA: "Alfred Bryan." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/alfred-bryan-singer-songwriter/.

Chicago: "Alfred Bryan." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/alfred-bryan-singer-songwriter/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-23 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence

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