"When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" is a lighthearted song in tribute to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Its lyrics were written by Chauncey Olcott and George Graff, Jr., set to music composed by Ernest Ball, for Olcott's production of ''The Isle O' Dreams'', and Olcott sang the song in the show. It was first published in 1912, at a time when songs in tribute to a romanticised Ireland were very numerous and popular both in Britain and the United States. During the First World War the famous tenor John McCormack recorded the song.
The song continued to be a familiar standard for generations. Decades later it was used as the opening song on the radio show ''
Duffy's Tavern
''Duffy's Tavern'' is an American radio situation comedy that ran for a decade on several networks ( CBS, 1941–42; NBC-Blue Network, 1942–44; and NBC, 1944–51), concluding with the December 28, 1951, broadcast.
The program often featured ...
''. The song has been recorded on over 200 singles and albums and by many famous singers, including Bing Crosby,
Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937),
known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...
, and
Roger Whittaker
Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (born 22 March 1936) is a British singer-songwriter and musician, who was born in Nairobi to English parents. His music is an eclectic mix of folk music and popular songs in addition to radio airplay hits. He is bes ...
.
Lyrics
Verse 1:
:There's a tear in your eye and I'm wondering why,
:For it never should be there at all;
:With such pow'r in your smile, sure a stone you'd beguile,
:So there's never a tear-drop should fall;
:When your sweet lilting laughter's like some fairy song,
:And your eyes twinkle bright as can be;
:You should laugh all the while and all other times, smile,
:And now smile a smile for me.
Chorus:
:When Irish eyes are smiling,
:Sure it's like a morn in Spring,
:In the lilt of Irish laughter
:You can hear the angels sing.
:When Irish hearts are happy,
:All the world seems bright and gay,
:And when Irish eyes are smiling,
:Sure, they steal your heart away.
Verse 2:
:For your smile is a part of the love in your heart,
:And it makes even sunshine more bright;
:Like the linnet's sweet song, crooning all the day long,
:Comes your laughter so tender and light;
:For the spring-time of life is the sweetest of all,
:There is ne'er a real care or regret;
:And while spring-time is ours throughout all of youth's hours,
:Let us smile each chance we get.
(Chorus)
The song in the news
The song gained momentary notoriety in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...
, 1985. At the end of the evening, the two leaders jointly performed "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling", for which Mulroney was extensively criticized in the Canadian press.
In film
"When Irish Eyes are Smiling" has been used in the following movies and short subjects:
*"Return to Me," 2000
*"It's A Great Day For The Irish," 1999
*"The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (Ireland, April 1916)," 1993
*"Young Guns," 1988 (Anachronistically, as the movie is set in 1877, 35 years before the song was published.)
*"Husbands," 1970
*"
Ducking the Devil
''Ducking The Devil'' is a 1957 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' animated cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on August 17, 1957, and stars Daffy Duck and the Tasmanian Devil.
Plot
At a zoo, a cage was reserved for the ...
," 1957 cartoon
*" Canary Row," 1950
*" Top o' the Morning," 1949 (sung by Bing Crosby).
*" The Time of Your Life," 1948
*" My Wild Irish Rose," 1947
*" Trap Happy Porky," 1945
*"Irish Eyes Are Smiling," 1944 (This is an actual movie about Ernest R. Ball)
*" My Favorite Blonde," 1942
*" Notes to You," 1941
*"Aviation Vacation," 1941
*"Always a Bride," 1940
*"The Long Voyage Home," 1940
*"Tear Gas Squad," 1940
*"It All Came True," 1940
*"The Fighting 69th," 1940
*"Let Freedom Ring," 1939
*"The Crowd Roars," 1938
*"
North of the Rio Grande
''North of the Rio Grande'' is a lost 1922 American silent Western film directed by Rollin S. Sturgeon and starring Bebe Daniels and Jack Holt.