i'm getting tired so i can sleep

last coupla nights at work i've been thinking about this song my mother usedta sing us when we were little. turns out it's an irving berlin song, part of the all-soldier musical this is the army he composed while stationed at camp upton, long island (which later became brookhaven national lab, where my father worked) during ww1. the way i remember it is a lot different than the way it sounds in the clip, due to my mother's, um, idiosyncratic sense of riddim. and i never heard the intro before now.



Out on a hike all day, dear
Part of the army grind
Weary and long the way, dear
But really I don't mind

I'm getting tired so I can sleep
I want to sleep so I can dream
I want to dream so I can be with you

I've got your picture by my bed
'Twill soon be placed beneath my head
To keep me company the whole night through

For a little while, whatever befalls
I will see your smile till reveille calls

I hope you're tired enough to sleep
And please sleep long enough to dream
And look for me for I'll be dreaming too