Wentworth by-the-Sea, Portsmouth, N.H.

Wentworth by-the-Sea, Portsmouth, N.H., n.d.

In honor of this mother's day dinner, Wentworth by-the-Sea printed the following on the back of their menu:

M is for the million things she gave me
O means only that she's growing old
T is for the tears were shed to save me
H is for her heart of purest gold
E is for her eyes with love light shining
R means right and right she'll always be
Put them all together they spell Mother a
word that means the world to me.

The popular song M-O-T-H-E-R was written by lyricist Howard Johnson (1887-1941) and the music was composed by Theodore Morse. (Johnson wrote other memorable lyrics, including, "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!") Read the complete lyrics for M-O-T-H-E-R in the original sheet music which is online as part of Ball State University's digital library.

From the Culinary Institute of America Menu Collection, Chapman S. Root Menu Collection, menu 7-2983.