"The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" is a popular song published in 1913, with lyrics by

Ballard MacDonald Ballard MacDonald (October 15, 1882 – November 17, 1935) was an American lyricist, who was one of the writers of Tin Pan Alley. Born in Portland, Oregon, he was a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ...

and music by

Harry Carroll Harry Carroll (November 28, 1892, in Atlantic City, New Jersey – December 26, 1962, in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania) was an American songwriter, pianist, and composer. Biography Carroll taught himself how to play the piano and began playing in mov ...

. It was inspired by John Fox Jr.'s 1908 novel of the same title, but whereas the novel was set in the

Cumberland Mountains The Cumberland Mountains are a mountain range in the southeastern section of the Appalachian Mountains. They are located in western Virginia, southwestern West Virginia, the eastern edges of Kentucky, and eastern middle Tennessee, including the ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, the song refers to the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virg ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. In it, the singer expresses his love for his girl, June, who is waiting for him under the titular pine tree. It is perhaps best known for being performed by

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in t ...

in the 1937 film ''Way Out West''. This version became a

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

hit in 1975, some years after both actors had died.

History

It was recorded 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 ...

and Albert Campbell on March 4, 1913, and was successful in America. Elsie Baker and James F. Harrison's version also sold well in the same year. The song was featured in

's 1937 film '' Way Out West''. It was performed by Laurel and Hardy with

The Avalon Boys The Avalon Boys were a quartet of singers popular in the 1930s. They appeared in a number of comedy films and had a memorable role in Laurel and Hardy's '' Way Out West''. Members *Chill Wills (bass) *Art Greene *Walter Weyland Trask (guitar), b. ...

and featured a section sung in deep bass by

Chill Wills Theodore Childress "Chill" Wills (July 18, 1902 – December 15, 1978) was an American actor and a singer in the Avalon Boys quartet. Early life Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas, on July 18, 1902. Career He was a performer from early chi ...

, lip-synced by Stan Laurel in the film, with the last two lines in falsetto (sung by

Rosina Lawrence Rosina May Lawrence (December 30, 1912 – June 23, 1997) was a British-Canadian actress and singer. She had a short but memorable career in the 1920s and 1930s in Hollywood before she married in 1939 and retired from entertainment. She is best kn ...

) after Ollie hit Stan on the head with a mallet. This stage routine was performed by actors

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, whi ...

and

John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in '' Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in '' Days of Thunder'' (1990), '' ...

as part of the 2019 biographical film ''

Stan & Ollie ''Stan & Ollie'' is a 2018 biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jon S. Baird. The script, written by Jeff Pope, was inspired by ''Laurel and Hardy: The British Tours'' by A.J. Marriot which chronicled the later years of the comedy double ...

''. In 1975, at a time when Laurel and Hardy films were popular on British television, the UK branch of

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

produced an album of dialogue and songs, '' Laurel & Hardy – The Golden Age Of Hollywood Comedy'', which included "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine". The song was released as a single and reached No. 2 in the

, thanks largely to being championed by disc jockey

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

on his Radio 1 evening show. The song was also recorded by

Vivian Stanshall Vivian Stanshall (born Victor Anthony Stanshall; 21 March 1943 – 5 March 1995) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his exploration of the British upper ...

and (as "Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia") by

Tokyo Blade Tokyo Blade are an English heavy metal band, active since 1982. Tokyo Blade is one of the many acts considered part of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) movement, which lasted from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. Tokyo Blade hav ...

. The song is featured in the stage play ''The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine'', and is played during the opening credits of the 1936 film adaptation. "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" was the favorite song of

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

. The song's melody and chorus has also been used for an American

square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...

in the "singing square" style, in which the dance caller's instructions are fitted to the melody and the dancers sometimes sing along on the chorus as they return to place at the end of each repetition of the group dance figure. Don and Marie Armstrong, “Trail of the Lonesome Pine - Don & Marie Armstrong,” Square Dance History Project, accessed November 24, 2020, https://squaredancehistory.org/items/show/835.

Lyrics

:Verse 1 :Chorus :Verse 2

References

Bibliography

*MacDonald, Ballard (w.); Carroll, Harry (m.)
"The Trail of the Lonesome Pine"
(Sheet music). New York: Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., Inc. (1913).

External links

"The Trail of the Lonesome Pine"
Manuel Romain (Edison Blue Amberol 1743, 1913)—
Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project
'.
Transcription of Laurel & Hardy version
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trail of the Lonesome Pine, The Songs with lyrics by Ballard MacDonald Songs with music by Harry Carroll 1913 songs 1910s song stubs 1975 singles Laurel and Hardy Music based on novels