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Goodbye Alexander, Goodbye Honey Boy
"Goodbye Alexander, Goodbye Honey Boy" is a World War I song describing an African American soldier going off to war and his girlfriend's reaction in his military service. The song is credited to Henry Creamer and Turner Layton, the writers of ''Sweet Emalina, My Gal'' and ''After You've Gone''. Themes The song mostly focuses on the words, actions, and feelings of Dinah Lee, girlfriend of the eponymous soldier Alexander Cooper, as he marches to a troop ship to embark for France to fight in the war. Written by famous African-American songwriters Henry Creamer and Turner Layton, the song bucks the contemporary popular trend of minstrel songs and coon songs. Instead black soldiers are portrayed similarly to white ones, as heroes going off to war and leaving loved ones behind. Several lines echo themes common to many World War I popular songs: the longing of those at home for the return of the soldiers ("I'll be waiting like Poor Butterfly"); pride in the soldiers' service ("Dresse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Creamer
Henry Sterling Creamer (June 21, 1879 – October 14, 1930) was an African American popular song lyricist and theater producer. He was born in Richmond, Virginia and died in New York. He co-wrote many popular songs in the years from 1900 to 1929, often collaborating with Turner Layton, with whom he also appeared in vaudeville. Career Henry Creamer was a singer, dancer, songwriter and stage producer/director. He first performed on the vaudeville circuit in the U.S. and in Europe as a duo with pianist Turner Layton, with whom he also co-wrote songs. Two of their most enduring songs, for which Creamer wrote the lyrics, are " After You've Gone" (1918), which was popularized by Sophie Tucker, and " Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" (1922), which was included in the soundtrack for one of the dance numbers in the Fred Astaire / Ginger Rogers 1939 movie ''The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle''. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans became a hit again in 1959 when the rocked up recording by Freddy C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |