Das Lied vom Leben on AllMovie

This mediocre drama laid on the pathos in an attempt to draw in the sentimental audiences of the early '20s. Amos Tilden (Edward Peil) is a railroad worker, and his wife, Mary (Georgia Woodthorpe), grows tired of their drab existence. Finally, she abandons both her husband and baby boy, not realizing that shortly afterwards, Amos is killed in an accident. Mary winds up working as a dishwasher in the big city and leading a life as drab as the one she had with Amos. After a couple of decades of this bare existence, she makes the acquaintance of David, a young writer (Gaston Glass). Mary recognizes David as her own son, but he reveals so much bitterness toward his absent mother, that Mary thinks better of revealing her identity. David's wife, Aline (Grace Darmond), has grown tired of her life and is planning to run off with another man. David discovers the affair and shoots Aline's lover. To save her son, Mary takes the blame, finally revealing to him that she is his mother. Luckily for them both, the shot was not fatal. Aline learns her lesson and returns to David, and Mary is united with them both.