"I'm Goin' To Fight My Way Right Back to Carolina" is a World War I era song written and composed by Billy Baskette and Jessie Spiess.[1] The song was published in 1918 by McCarthy & Fisher, Inc. of New York City. The sheet music cover was designed by Andre C. De Takacs. It features an armed soldier tearing through the cover.[2] The song was written for both voice and piano.[3]
The lyrics are told from the point of view of a soldier who is willing to fight to his best ability. His inspiration is his girlfriend Caroline (also referred to as Carolina). The chorus is as follows:[4]
I'm goin' to fight my way back to Carolina
I'm goin' to run every Hun,
every son of gun I see
Depend on me, Cause I'm in this thing to win
And I know that it's no sin
To grab a little German, any little Herman
and carve my name on him
And I am satisfied Carolina loves me
I left my heart with her in Dixie land,
She'll understand that I may come back with something missin'
^Vogel, Frederick G. (1995). World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic Tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 194. ISBN0-89950-952-5. OCLC32241433.
^Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music 1. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 283. ISBN978-0-7864-2798-7. OCLC71790113.
Vogel, Frederick G. World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic Tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1995. ISBN0-89950-952-5. OCLC32241433