"(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey", originally titled "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please.... Come Home?" is a popular song published in 1902. It is commonly referred to as simply "Bill Bailey".
Its words and music were written by
Hughie Cannon
Hugo Cannon (April 9, 1877 – June 17, 1912) was an American songwriter and pianist whose best-known composition was the popular ragtime song " (Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey".
Biography
Cannon was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1877. He ...
, an American songwriter and pianist, and published by
Howley, Haviland and Dresser. It is still a standard with
Dixieland
Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...
and traditional
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
bands. The simple 32-bar chord sequence of its chorus also underpins many other tunes played mainly by jazz bands, such as "
Over the Waves", "
Washington and Lee Swing
"Washington and Lee Swing" is the official fight song of Washington and Lee University. It was written in 1910 by Mark W. Sheafe, Clarence A. (Tod) Robbins, and Thornton W. Allen. It is widely used as the primary school song by other universities ...
", "
Bourbon Street Parade Bourbon Street Parade is a popular jazz song written by drummer Paul Barbarin in 1949. The song is an example of how early marching bands influenced New Orleans jazz. It has become a Dixieland classic and New Orleans Jazz standard.
It is often perf ...
", "My Little Girl", and the final themes of "
Tiger Rag
"Tiger Rag" is a jazz standard that was recorded and copyrighted by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in 1917. It is one of the most recorded jazz compositions. In 2003, the 1918 recording of "Tiger Rag" was entered into the U.S. Library of Cong ...
" and "
The Beer Barrel Polka
"Beer Barrel Polka", also known as "The Barrel Polka", "Roll Out the Barrel", or "Rosamunde", is a 1927 polka composed by Czech musician JaromÃr Vejvoda. Lyrics were added in 1934, subsequently gaining worldwide popularity during World War II a ...
".
Origin
Cannon wrote the song in 1902 when he was working as a bar pianist at Conrad Deidrich’s Saloon in
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...
. Willard "Bill" Bailey, also a jazz musician, was a regular customer and friend, and one night told Cannon about his marriage to Sarah (née Siegrist). Cannon "was inspired to rattle off a ditty about Bailey’s irregular hours. Bailey thought the song was a scream
.e. very good and he brought home a dashed-off copy of the song to show Sarah. Sarah couldn’t see the humor....
utaccepted without comment the picture it drew of her as a wife." Cannon sold all rights to the song to a New York publisher, and died from
cirrhosis
Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...
aged 35. Willard and Sarah Bailey later divorced; He moved to Los Angeles with their daughter Frances, he died in 1954, and Sarah died in 1976 aged about 102. (See New York Times archives 1976, unknown date)
Popular recordings
*In 1953, featured in the film
Meet Me at the Fair
''Meet Me at the Fair'' is a 1953 American musical film directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Dan Dailey, Diana Lynn and Hugh O'Brian. Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, it was shot in technicolor.
Synopsis
A boy named Tad flees from ...
directed by
Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left fo ...
where it was sung by
Jo Ann Greer
Katherine Joan Greer (April 3, 1927 – May 24, 2001), known professionally as Jo Ann Greer, was an American singer.
Career
Her career spanned nearly 50 years, and she primarily worked in the fields of movie dubbing and band-singing. She init ...
who dubbed the singing voice of actress
Carole Mathews
Carole Mathews (born Jean Deifel, also credited as Jeanne Francis; September 13, 1920 – November 6, 2014) was an American film and television actress.
Early years
Born in Montgomery, Illinois, near Chicago, Mathews lived with her grandmothe ...
.
*In 1960,
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music.
He started his car ...
recorded the song, where it went to #19 on the
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
, and #34 on the UK charts.
Parodies
*Parodist
Allan Sherman
Allan may refer to:
People
* Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name
* Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker
* Allan (footballer, born 1989) (Al ...
recorded a parody of this song on his 1963 album ''
My Son, the Celebrity
''My Son, the Celebrity'' is a musical comedy album by Allan Sherman, released in the United States by Warner Bros. in January 1963.
The album was the second of three straight albums by Sherman to reach #1 on the Billboard album charts. It rea ...
,'' entitled "Won't You Come Home
Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...
?"
*In the "Miss Solar System" episode of ''
The Jetsons
''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produced f ...
'', first aired February 3, 1963, Jane belts out "Won't You Fly Home Bill Spacely" in
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
's own parody of the song. Hanna-Barbera (with
Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio owned by the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio is the production arm of Cartoon Network, and started operating on ...
) makes more frequent use of the song throughout its ''
Johnny Bravo
''Johnny Bravo'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the second of the network's Cartoon Cartoons, which aired from ...
'' cartoon series.
*In ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' episode "
Whacking Day
"Whacking Day" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 29, 1993. The episode revolves around the fictional h ...
",
Grampa Simpson
Abraham Jebediah "Abe" Simpson II, better known as Grampa, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He made his first appearance in the episode entitled " Grandpa and the Kids", a one-minute Simpsons short on ...
is seen posing as a female cabaret singer in Nazi Germany, singing a version of this song – with "Franz Brauder" replacing "Bill Bailey" – to
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
.
*The 1980
Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and int ...
album, ''Smurfing Sing Song'', includes a version of this song entitled "Smurf Baby", in which the chorus is repeated with the name "Bill Bailey" replaced with "Smurf Baby".
*
Sandler & Young
Sandler and Young were an American musical duo from the 1960s through the 1980s, composed of Belgian singer Tony Sandler and native New Yorker Ralph Young.
First success
Sandler and Young appeared with Polly Bergen in her show at the Las Vegas ...
recorded a 20-minute medley where Bill Bailey is adapted to England, France, Switzerland,
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
,
Italian opera
Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ...
,
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
, Israel (with Jewish jokes), and climaxing with the United States.
*
The Capitol Steps
The Capitol Steps was an American political-satire group that performed from 1981 to 2020. Most of the Capitol Steps' material parodied well-known contemporary songs, usually introduced with a short skit. The songs were interspersed with other ro ...
performed a version referring to the
2000 Democratic Presidential Primary titled "Won't You Go Home
Bill Bradley
William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination f ...
".
*In
P.G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jee ...
's 1906 novel ''
Love Among the Chickens
''Love Among the Chickens'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published as a book in the United Kingdom in June 1906 by George Newnes, London, and in the United States by Circle Publishing, New York, on 11 May 1909.McIlvaine (1990), pp. 15†...
'', the narrator feeling sorry for himself blames his problems on his historical version of womanhood: "Oh woman, woman! At the bottom of everything! History is full of tragedies caused by the lethal sex. Who lost Mark Antony the world? A woman. Who let Samson in so atrociously? Woman again. Why did Bill Bailey leave home? Once more, because of a woman."
See also
*
List of pre-1920 jazz standards
Jazz standards are musical compositions that are widely known, performed and recorded by jazz artists as part of the genre's musical repertoire. This list includes compositions written before 1920 that are considered standards by at least one ma ...
References
External links
* http://www.perfessorbill.com/lyrics/lybailey.htm (lyrics)
* http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/sheetmusic/n/n09/n0971/ (traditional arrangement from "Historic American Sheet Music")
{{DEFAULTSORT:Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey
1902 songs
1900s jazz standards
Songs written by Hughie Cannon
Al Hirt songs
Dixieland jazz standards
Songs about marriage