Answer:
The song was originally written as a lament from an Irish worker in London, missing his homeland, before it became a popular soldiers' marching song.
Explanation:
One of the most popular hits of the time, the song is atypical in that it is not a warlike song that incites the soldiers to glorious deeds.
It was recorded in 1914 by Irish tenor John McCormack. It became popular as a marching song among soldiers in the First World War and is remembered as a song of that war.
