"Goodbye, Dolly Gray" is a

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 ...

song, with lyrics by American Will D. Cobb and music by American Paul Barnes, first published in 1897 by the Morse Music Publishing Company. The song was the publishers' first hit.https://www.songhall.org/profile/Theodore_Morse

History

The song was popularised as a

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

, but it was actually written during the earlier

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

Notable recordings

A notable early recording on a

78 rpm record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The gr ...

was made in 1901 by

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

singer Harry Macdonough. In the same year another popular version was recorded by the Big Four Quartette with vocal group members Arthur Collins, Byron Harlan, Joe Natus and A. D. Madeira (Edison 7728). The song featured in

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's 1931 play ''

Cavalcade A cavalcade is a procession or parade on horseback, or a mass distance ride by a company of riders. Sometimes the focus of a cavalcade is participation rather than display and the participants do not wear costumes or ride in formation. ...

'' and in the movies '' Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), '' Alfie'' (1966) and ''

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' is a 1969 American Western (genre), Western buddy film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, k ...

'' (1969). The tune (with different lyrics) is also used in the modern day as "

Good Old Collingwood Forever The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...

", the club song of the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...

. "Goodbye, Dolly Gray" was also recorded by Bruce Lacey and the Alberts in the 1960s, and a modern recording by

Stan LePard Stanley James LePard (August 10, 1956 – February 11, 2021) was an American composer, orchestrator and sound designer. He is best known for his work on the ''Halo'' and ''Destiny'' game series, as well as ''Guild Wars 2''. In addition to games, he ...

was featured on

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game ''

Toy Soldiers A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve c ...

'' as an opening menu theme.

Lyrics

:I have come to say goodbye, Dolly Gray :It's no use to ask me why, Dolly Gray :There's a murmur in the air, you can hear it ev'rywhere, :It is the time to do and dare, Dolly Gray :So if you hear the sound of feet, Dolly Gray :Sounding thro' the village street, Dolly Gray :'Tis the tramp of soldiers' true in their uniforms so blue, :I must say goodbye to you, Dolly Gray! :Refrain: :Goodbye Dolly I must leave you, tho' it breaks my heart to go :Something tells me I am needed at the front to fight the foe :See - the boys in blue are marching and I can no longer stay, :Hark - I hear the bugle calling, goodbye Dolly Gray! :Hear the rolling of the drums, Dolly Gray :Back from war the reg'ment comes, Dolly Gray :On your lovely face so fair, I can see a look of fear :For your soldier boy's not there, Dolly Gray :For the one you love so well, Dolly Gray :In the midst of battle fell, Dolly Gray :With his face toward the foe, as he died he murmured low, :"I must say goodbye and go, Dolly Gray!" Refrain :

History

Notable recordings

Lyrics

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links