"Goodbye, Little Darlin', Goodbye" (also known as "Goodby Little Darlin") is a 1939 song written by

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

and

Johnny Marvin John Senator Marvin (July 11, 1897 – December 10, 1944) was an early American recording artist and musician, starting in 1924 and covering a twenty-year period for many record labels. Early years Born in Butler, Oklahoma Territory in 18 ...

. Autry sang it (as a duet with Mary Lee) in the December 1939 movie '' South of the Border,'' and released it as a single in April 1940. It went on to make both Popular and

Hillbilly Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas west ...

(

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

) listings for 1940. The song would be notably recorded by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

probably on December 13, 1956, and released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

(Sun 331, with " You Tell Me" on the opposite side) in September 1959,
when he had already left the label for Columbia.

Cash version

According to John M. Alexander's book ''The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash'', the song was not released as a single:

Chart performance

Gene Autry

Johnny Cash

References

{{authority control 1939 songs 1940 singles 1959 singles Songs written by Gene Autry Songs written by Johnny Marvin Sun Records singles Johnny Cash songs Gene Autry songs Breakup songs