"Goodnight, Ladies" is a
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
attributed to
Edwin Pearce Christy, originally intended to be sung during a
minstrel show
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of portraying racial stereotypes of Afr ...
. Drawing from an 1847 song by Christy entitled "Farewell, Ladies", the song as known today was first published on May 16, 1867.
Lyrics
VERSE I: Goodnight, ladies! Goodnight, ladies! Goodnight, ladies! We're going to leave you now.
CHORUS: Merrily we roll along, roll along, roll along. Merrily we roll along, o'er the dark blue sea.
VERSE II: Farewell, Ladies! Farewell, ladies! Farewell, ladies! We're going to leave you now.
CHORUS
VERSE III: Sweet dreams, ladies! Sweet dreams, ladies! Sweet dreams, ladies! We're going to leave you now.
CHORUS
Note: the "Merrily We Roll Along" chorus has the same melody as "
Mary Had A Little Lamb
"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is an English-language nursery rhyme of nineteenth-century American origin, first published by American writer Sarah Josepha Hale in 1830. Its Roud Folk Song Index number is 7622.
Background
The nursery rhyme was firs ...
".
Notable uses
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...
quoted the song in ''
A Symphony: New England Holidays'' (1897–1913): I. Washington's Birthday, towards the end of the movement.
Meredith Willson
Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flautist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 1 ...
features the piece as the tenth number in ''
The Music Man
''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...
'' (1957).
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
included the song in a medley on his album ''
101 Gang Songs
''101 Gang Songs'' is an LP recorded in December 1960 by Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the ...
'' (1961).
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
included a version of the song at the end of side two of his album Transformer '
'' (1972).
See also
*"
I've Been Working on the Railroad
"I've Been Working on the Railroad" is an American folk song. The first published version appeared as "Levee Song" in ''Carmina Princetonia'', a book of Princeton University songs published in 1894. The earliest known recording is by The Shannon ...
"
*"
Merrily We Roll Along"
*"
Nice One Cyril
"Nice One Cyril" is a single by Cockerel Chorus written by Harold Spiro and Helen Clarke. The song title is a reference to Cyril Knowles, a left back who played for Tottenham Hotspur. It was released before the 1973 Football League Cup Final w ...
"
References
1867 songs
American folk songs
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