[Sheet music] Some Hearts Will be Joyful

Sheet music for the song, 'Some hearts will be joyful'. The music and lyrics for this song were written by the London based composer, Herbert Rule. This song was written about 1913 and quickly became popular in Australia at the beginning of the First World War. It was frequently sung during the embarkation of troopships in the process of leaving for overseas.

This copy of the music features a red cover with the depiction of a soldier in uniform beneath a banner in cream incorporating the title of the song in black font. An excerpt from the powerful lyrics are also printed in the same box as the title, 'When the drums are thundering, Each Mother's wondering if her boy's there'. The song was made famous in Australia by Mr Marshall Palmer and was recorded on Regal Records as recording number 6882. This copy of the music was published by Dinsdales Pty Ltd and sold for 2/-. The song was described by the publishers, evident at the top of the front cover, as 'The greatest descriptive pathetic soldier song of the century.' The back cover of this copy shows the Dinsdales' music catalogue, list A, that includes ballads; sea songs; sacred songs; ragtime and popular songs; piano solos; and patriotic, sentimental and humourous songs relating to the war. This song, 'Some hearts will be joyful', is listed in the category of 'patriotic, sentimental and humourous songs relating the war.'

Herbert Rule also composed the songs titled 'I want me lonely mansion', 'Don't forget the ship that carried you over', 'Wolloomooloo' and 'I want to be with you'.


Towards the bottom of this page is a sound recording of this sheet music, or a parody, that was created as part of the Music and the First World War project. More information about this recording, including names of the performers, can be found on the catalogue record for the sound recording. A link to the catalogue record for the sound recording can be found at the bottom of this page, under the heading ‘Related objects’ where it can be identified with the prefix [sound recording].