The actual tune first appeared in the 1943 film The Outlaw, as the film's main theme. John O'Dreams was written by an Englishman,

Bill Caddick Lewis Frederick William Caddick (27 June 1944 – 19 November 2018) was an English folk singer-songwriter and guitarist, particularly noted for his songwriting and as a member of the innovative and influential group Home Service. Career outli ...

, (1944-2018), and later became famous in Irish Traditional music. Caddick was born in Wolverhampton, England. The titular central character is equivalent to the

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

, a fictional character who sends people to sleep. The song portrays all people as being "equal in sleep": :All things are equal when the day is done :The Prince and the ploughman, the slave and freeman :All find their comfort in old John O'Dreams In this context, sleep may also be considered a metaphor for death, both as an eventual equalizer of all things, and for the allusion to a "crossing over," as in a river, a prevalent theme in Western spiritual beliefs. The most popular arrangements are by English singer/songwriter Bill Caddick. Singers

Gordon Bok Gordon Bok (born October 31, 1939) is an American folklorist and singer-songwriter, who grew up in Camden, Maine and is associated with music from New England. Career Bok's first album, self-titled, was produced by Noel Paul Stookey (Paul of P ...

Éilís Kennedy Éilis or Éilís (respectively and ), anglicized as Eilish or Eylish ( or ), is a Gaelic given name. Notable people with the given name include: *Billie Eilish, American singer-songwriter *Eilish McColgan, British athlete *Eilís Dillon, Iri ...

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

Jean Redpath Jean Redpath MBE (28 April 1937 – 21 August 2014) was a Scottish folk singer, educator and musician. Career Jean Redpath was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to musical parents. Her mother knew many Scots songs and passed them on to Jean and her ...

Max Boyce Maxwell Boyce, (born 27 September 1943) is a Welsh comedian, singer and entertainer. He rose to fame in the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in a South Wales mining community. B ...

Garnet Rogers Garnet Rogers (born May 1955) is a Canadian folk musician, singer, songwriter and composer. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario with roots in Nova Scotia. He began his professional career working with his older brother, folk musician Stan Rogers, an ...

and

The Clancy Brothers The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumper sweaters and are widely credited with popu ...

with

Robbie O'Connell Robbie O'Connell (born 1951) is an Irish singer songwriter who performs solo, as well as with The Green Fields of America. He also appears with Dónal Clancy (cousin), Dan Milner, and fiddler Rose Clancy. O'Connell has also toured and recorded ...

also recorded versions. The enchanting arpeggiated melody is based on Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, "The Pathetique", and is erroneously thought to have originated in either a Russian or Italian folksong. John O’Dreams is a character in Scottish author Fiona Macleod’s (William Sharp’s alias) “The Lynn of Dreams”, in the Winged Destiny

Lyrics

:When midnight comes and people homeward tread 'Alternate'': When midnight comes good people homeward tread:Seek now your blanket and your feather bed :Home comes the rover, his journey's over 'Alternate'': Home is the rover, his journey over:Yield up the night time to old John O' Dreams :Yield up the night time to old John O' Dreams :Across the hill, the sun has gone astray :Tomorrow's cares are many dreams away :The stars are flying, your candle is dying 'Alternate'': The stars are flying, the wind is sighing:Yield up the darkness to old John O' Dreams :Yield up the darkness to old John O' Dreams :Both man and master in the night are one :All things are equal when the day is done :The prince and the ploughman, the slave and the freeman :All find their comfort with old John O' Dreams :All find their comfort with old John O' Dreams :When sleep it comes the dreams come running clear 'Alternate'': Now as you sleep the dreams come winging clear:The hawks of morning cannot reach you here 'Alternate'': The hawks of morning cannot harm you here:Sleep is a river, flows on forever 'Alternate'': Sleep is your river, float on forever:And for your boatman choose old John O' Dreams :And for your boatman choose old John O' Dreams :When midnight comes and people homeward tread 'Alternate'': When midnight comes good people homeward tread:Seek now your blanket and your feather bed :Home comes the rover, his journey's over 'Alternate'': Home is the rover, his journey's over:Yield up the night time to old John O' Dreams :Yield up the night time to old John O' Dreams Year of song missing English folk songs {{Folk-song-stub