Theodore Morse


Theodore F. Morse was an American composer of popular songs.

Biography

Born in Washington, D.C., Morse was educated at the Maryland Military and Naval Academy. He went on to study both violin and piano. He and his wife, Theodora Morse, became a successful songwriting team for Tin Pan Alley. Listed as Terriss & Morse, they were one of the earliest Tin Pan Alley husband-wife songwriting teams.
Morse died from pneumonia in New York City on May 25, 1924.
His song "Blue Bell, the Dawn is Waking..." became popular in Germany shortly after WW1 due to its marching rhythm. In 1920, Erich Tessmer wrote German lyrics, and the song was performed by the Freikorps. Then the German Stormtroopers used it as their march with new lyrics "Kamerad, reich mir die Hände"; another version of the lyrics was used by their opponents, the Rotfront. When the Nazis came to power, they used the song as a Hitler Youth march with a newer version of lyrics "Deutschland, du Land der Treue".

Partial list of songs

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