"The Black Hills of Dakota" is a song, written for the

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

, ''

Calamity Jane Martha Jane Cannary (May 1, 1852 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits she was known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. Late ...

,'' about the singer's love for, and desire to return to, the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. The music was written by

Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatre. ...

, and the lyrics by

Paul Francis Webster Paul Francis Webster (December 20, 1907 – March 18, 1984) was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and was nominated sixteen times for the award. Life and career Webster was born in New York City, United St ...

, in 1953. The most notable recording of the song was done by

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

, issued both on the soundtrack album of the film, and as a single which was released in June 1954. Doris Day's recording reached No. 7 on the UK chart. In 2010, Australian singer

Melinda Schneider Melinda Schneider (born Melinda-Jane Bean; 7 October 1971) is an Australian country music singer and songwriter and radio host. Schneider has been performing since she was three and sang with her mother, the renowned yodelling country artist Mar ...

recorded the song for her Doris Day tribute album, ''Melinda Does Doris''.

References

1953 songs Songs with music by Sammy Fain Songs with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster Songs from musicals Black Hills Doris Day songs 1950s ballads {{1950s-pop-song-stub