“It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” is a British music hall and marching song written by Jack Judge (and co-credited but not co-written by Harry Williams (Henry James Williams)) that, allegedly, was written for a 5 shilling bet in Stalybridge, on the 30 January 1912 and performed the next night at the local music hall. Judge’s parents were Irish, and his grandparents came from Tipperary.
Reproduced below are the lyrics to the popular British anthem, It’s a Long Way to Tipperary.
Easily one of the most popular anthems sung by soldiers on the way to the Western Front during the early enthusiasm of summer 1914, the song was written by Jack Judge and Harry Williams some two years earlier in 1912.
Three versions of the song are available here; the first was recorded by John McCormack in 1914; the second was recorded by the American Quartet with Billy Murray, also in 1914; and the third was recorded in January 1915 by Albert Farrington.