Songfacts®:

• The title of this song is of course taken from The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Is The Hand That Rules The World, a poem by William Ross Wallace (1819-'81) that was first published in 1865 (with a shorter title).
  
  Irving Berlin's father died when he was only 13, and he lost his first wife Dorothy Goetz in 1912 after only six months of marriage, so it is hardly surprising that he was so close to his mother. This song was actually dedicated "To my mother", and was the first one he published with his new company, Irving Berlin, Inc. It was recorded on Victor by the tenor John Steel, with an orchestra.
  
  Berlin's mother died July 21, 1922 which led to him writing further songs for her, including "All Alone." >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England