"Good-bye-ee!" is a popular song written and composed by R. P. Weston and

Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard ...

. Performed by

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

stars Florrie Forde, Daisy Wood, and Charles Whittle, it was a hit in 1917. Weston and Lee got the idea for the song when they saw a group of factory girls calling out goodbye to soldiers marching to Victoria station. They were saying the word in the exaggerated way which had been popularised as a

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

by comedian

Harry Tate Ronald Macdonald Hutchison (4 July 1872 – 14 February 1940), professionally known as Harry Tate, was an English comedian, who performed in the music halls, in variety shows, and in films. Career Born in Lambeth, the son of a Scottish tea m ...

. They then travelled to

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

and wrote the song on a wet afternoon in their cabin under the

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

. The song lent its name to "

Goodbyeee "Goodbyeee", or "Plan F: Goodbyeee", is the sixth and final episode of '' Blackadder Goes Forth'', the fourth and final series of British historical sitcom ''Blackadder ''Blackadder'' is a series of four Period piece, period British sitco ...

", the final episode of the sitcom ''

Blackadder Goes Forth ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' is the fourth series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989 on BBC One, BBC1. The series placed the recurring characters of Captain B ...

''.

Chorus

Good-bye-ee! good-bye-ee! Wipe the tear, baby dear, from your eye-ee. Tho' it's hard to part I know, I'll be tickled to death to go. Don't cry-ee! don't sigh-ee! There's a silver lining in the sky-ee. Bonsoir old thing, cheerio! chin chin! Nah-poo! Toodle-oo! Good-bye-ee! The salutations at the end of the chorus are from various languages. ''Bonsoir'' is French for goodnight. ''Chin chin'' is a Chinese toast. "Nahpoo" and "toodle-oo" are English idioms from corruptions of the French ''il n'y en a plus'' (there is no more) and ''à tout à l'heure'' (see you later).

References

External links

* {{authority control 1917 songs British patriotic songs Songs of World War I Florrie Forde songs Songs written by R. P. Weston Songs written by Bert Lee Songs about soldiers Songs about the military Songs about parting