"Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland" was one of the most famous and beloved popular songs of the early 20th century. This gentle

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

, with

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...

by Beth Slater Whitson and music by Leo Friedman, was published in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Jan ...

. Friedman and Whitson sold it to the largest publisher in Chicago, Will Rossiter. Unfortunately, Rossiter never paid one cent to the authors in

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

. It was first introduced to the American public by

Reine Davies Reine Davies (born Irene Douras; June 6, 1883 – April 5, 1938) was an American singer and actress. Life and career Davies was born on June 6, 1883, in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Bernard J. Douras, a lawyer and judge in New York City; ...

(1883–1938), who was known as "The New American Beauty" and by her friends as "The True Blue" girl. Davies first introduced the song in New York at the leading vaudeville house, and received countless encores for her artistic work. Vera Berliner, "The Violinist With a Soul," played the chorus of this song, walking down the centre aisle, which made it an instantaneous success. Originally, on the

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, ...

cover was an artist who was unknown. Rossiter then took a 1903 photo of Reine Davies and used her on his sheet music cover. After he did that, sales of the sheet music went to over two million in that first year. Some people mistakenly connect the song with the opening of

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

's Dreamland; however, Dreamland at Coney Island opened in 1904 while the song was written in 1909. The chorus is: :Meet me tonight in dreamland, :under the silvery moon; :Meet me tonight in dreamland, :where love's sweet roses bloom. :Come with the love-light gleaming :in your dear eyes of blue; :Meet me in dreamland, :sweet dreamy dreamland; :There let my dreams come true.

Recorded versions

There were three popular versions in 1910 by: *

Henry Burr Henry Burr (January 15, 1882 – April 6, 1941) was a Canadian singer, radio performer and producer. He was born Harry Haley McClaskey and used Henry Burr as one of his many pseudonyms, in addition to Irving Gillette, Henry Gillette, Alfred Alex ...

* Harry Anthony *Elizabeth Wheeler Other recordings were by: *

Jimmie Davis James Houston Davis (September 11, 1899 – November 5, 2000) was an American politician, singer and songwriter of both sacred and popular songs. Davis was elected for two nonconsecutive terms from 1944 to 1948 and from 1960 to 1964 as the ...

(1938) *

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy ser ...

- recorded for his album of classic songs, ''Bill Frawley Sings the Old Ones'' (1958) *

Vaughn Monroe Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter, big band leader, actor, and businessman, who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for rec ...

and His Orchestra - recorded for RCA Victor circa 1946 (catalog No.20-1965). *

The Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies an ...

- for their album ''Barbershop Harmony'' (1960). *

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 ...

and

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song " Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano" ...

recorded the song as part of a medley for their

radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netwo ...

in 1961 and it was subsequently released on CD.

Film appearances

*1941 H. M. Pulham, Esq. - played while the children dance at school. *1941

Old Mother Riley's Circus ''Old Mother Riley's Circus'' is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane and John Longden. Old Mother Riley takes over a struggling circus and makes a huge success of it. The trade ad poste ...

*1949 In the Good Old Summertime - sung by

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

and played at various times throughout the picture. *1953

Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

, starring Tony Curtis, the song can be heard playing in the background during scenes depicting Houdini's courtship of his future wife, Bess. This is an anachronism, as Houdini met and courted Bess in the early 1890s, while the song was not published until 1909. *1953 The Eddie Cantor Story - sung by young Eddie on the platform. *1980

The Dream Merchants ''The Dream Merchants'' is an American novel written by Harold Robbins and published in 1949 in literature, 1949. Set in the early 20th century, the book is a "rags-to-riches" story of a penniless young man who goes to Hollywood, Los Angeles, H ...

-the song is background music at the wedding of Johnny and Doris *2016 Dreamland - performed by Elmo Peeler.

Appearance in fiction

* Early in the novel Sexus by

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi- autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical re ...

, the song is mentioned as being sung during a dinner celebrating a work bonus of $350. * The song is sung in the seventh episode of '' Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later''.

References

Songs about dreams 1909 songs Songs with lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson Songs with music by Leo Friedman {{1900s-song-stub