America's entry into World War I in April 1917 pulled Ives away from composing. Until then, he had undertaken a punishing schedule, building his highly successful insurance business in New York by day (making himself a multi-millionaire in the process) and composing at night until exhaustion prevented more work. But in 1917 he wrote little music aside from four songs that seem to have been directly inspired by the war. He devoted the rest of his free time to political activities.

When Ives compiled numerous songs into the self-published 114 Songs he grouped this song with In Flanders Fields and He is There (later retitled They are There!) in 114 Songs as Three Songs of the War. This is the least jingoistic of the three, and has an accessible nostalgic melody, even though it ranges chromatically away from a main key. The text is by Ives, and begins with the highly characteristic phrase, "Scenes of my childhood are with me...." In evocative word painting Ives describes the time near the end of daylight when Daddy should return home from the mill. "But today! In freedom's cause Tom sailed away for over there, over there, over there!" The music uses Ives' brand of impressionism, with misty pedal-held chords in the piano at the beginning. The harmonies are highly chromatic and create a dreamy mood. The music presses faster as the factory whistles blow. They run down the hill to meet Daddy, but there is a sudden quiet moment, then the music leaps into the song's only loud passage, on the words that reveal Tom has left for war. The music quickly fades out. The inevitable quotation from Cohan's popular song Over There! becomes a slow, sad chant. Then the misty held chords of the opening return to the mood of the original mood of the song in a typical Ives epilogue. Tom Sails Away is one of Ives' most moving songs. It also has the extramusical sad association with its position in Ives' output, for it comes near the end of his ability to creative output.

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