This is such a beautiful song - I could never understand when I was a child why my Dad would turn it off every time it played at Christmas. It was years later after my father had passed away that my Mom shared with me that the song was very popular during WWII. It reminded him of all the men he knew who didn't come back from the war.
I wish I had known this (as a small child) for I would have gone over to Dad and given him a huge hug to let him know things are OK. Men who grew up during The Great Depression just didn't express their feelings. He DID share with me once that he remembers the day he had only 16 cents left in his pocket. Thank God for FDR who helped our nation recover from that nightmare.
What is ironic is that today I want to turn off this song too - because it reminds me of how much I miss my Father.