"In the Gloaming" is an 1877 British song composed by Annie Fortescue Harrison with lyrics taken from a poem by

Meta Orred Meta Caroline Orred (1845 or 1846, in Edinkillie, Elginshire, Scotland – 23 May 1925, in Bournemouth) was an author and poet. Though born in Scotland, she lived most of her life in England England is a country that is part of the Unit ...

. Orred's poem (of the same title as the song) appeared in her 1874 book ''Poems''. "Gloaming" is a regional dialect term of Scots origin denoting "

twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this il ...

". The 1877 song, a

lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about somethin ...

of romantic regret, was very popular in the United States that year, and was again popularized in America in the 1910s by a recording made by The American Quartet with

Will Oakland Will Oakland (January 15, 1880–May 15, 1956) was an American countertenor famed for his exceptionally high vocal range. He was born Herman Hinrichs in Jersey City, New Jersey, to German-American immigrant parents. Oakland began his mus ...

Versions

*The American Quartet with

released a recorded version in 1910. *John Lovering released a recorded version in 1914. *

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

recorded a version in 1938. The song was a staple of Waller's live act. * Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven recorded the song in 1941. It was released as the B side of "Everything's Been Done Before". *

Bunk Johnson Willie Gary "Bunk" Johnson (December 27, 1879 – July 7, 1949) was an American prominent jazz trumpeter in New Orleans. Johnson gave the year of his birth as 1879, although there is speculation that he may have been younger by as much as a dec ...

(trumpet),

Don Ewell Donald Tyson Ewell (November 14, 1916 – August 9, 1983) was an American jazz stride pianist. He worked with Sidney Bechet, Kid Ory, George Lewis, George Brunis, Muggsy Spanier, and Bunk Johnson. Biography Born in Baltimore, Maryland, E ...

(piano) and Alphonse Steele (drums) recorded a trio version of this in June 1946. *

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

and

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956) and who pl ...

released the song on their '

Songs for Sunday Evening ''Songs for Sunday Evening'' is a 1950 album by Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae. Track listing # Long, Long Ago # Juanita # In the Gloaming # Last Night (Alice Mattulath / Halfdan Kjerulf) # Stars of the Summer Night ( Isaac B. Woodbury) # ...

' album in 1950. *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

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 for his own company, Project Records and distributed by Warner Bros. (W 2R-1401) and the RCA Victor Record Club in 1961 with lyric sheets to help the listener join in with the si ...

'' (1961) * The Story recorded a version, released on their 1993 album ''

The Angel in the House ''The Angel in the House'' is a narrative poem by Coventry Patmore, first published in 1854 and expanded until 1862. Although largely ignored upon publication, it became enormously popular in the United States during the later 19th century and ...

''. *

The Celtic Tenors The Celtic Tenors began life as the Three Irish Tenors on RTÉ's ''Theatre Nights'' in October 1995. The group at that time consisted of James Nelson, Niall Morris, and Paul Hennessey. In 1998, Matthew “The Gill” Gilsenan from Kells, Co. Me ...

included the song on their eponymous 2002 debut album.

Versions

References

Further reading and listening