"Goodbye Alexander, Goodbye Honey Boy" is a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

song describing an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

soldier going off to war and his girlfriend's reaction in his military service. The song is credited to

Henry Creamer Henry Sterling Creamer (June 21, 1879 – October 14, 1930) was a popular song lyricist and theater producer. He was born in Richmond, Virginia, and died in New York. He co-wrote many popular songs in the years from 1900 to 1929, often collaborat ...

and

Turner Layton Turner Layton (July 2, 1894 – February 6, 1978), born John Turner Layton, Jr., was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. He frequently worked with Henry Creamer. Life Born in Washington, D.C., United States, in 1894, he was the son of ...

, the writers of ''Sweet Emalina, My Gal'' and ''After You've Gone''.

Themes

The song mostly focuses on the words, actions, and feelings of Dinah Lee, girlfriend of the eponymous soldier Alexander Cooper, as he marches to a troop ship to embark for France to fight in the war. Written by famous African-American songwriters

and

, the song bucks the contemporary popular trend of

minstrel songs The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of portraying racial stereotypes of Afr ...

and

coon songs Coon songs were a genre of music that presented a Stereotypes of African Americans, stereotype of black people. They were popular in the United States and Australia from around 1880 to 1920, though the earliest such songs date from minstrel shows ...

. Instead black soldiers are portrayed similarly to white ones, as heroes going off to war and leaving loved ones behind. Several lines echo themes common to many World War I popular songs: the longing of those at home for the return of the soldiers ("I'll be waiting like Poor Butterfly"); pride in the soldiers' service ("Dressed up in that uniform you fills my heart with joy"); and certainty in eventual victory ("So get busy with that gun and don't come back 'till you've won"). There's also tongue-in-cheek wordplay common to popular songs of the era ("You left that window open and they got you in the draft").

Lyrics

The song starts off by setting a patriotic scene as a black regiment marches off to war, referencing emancipation to highlight the significance of the troops being African-American. :''Alexander Cooper was a colored trooper'' :''with his regiment he marched away'' :''Bands were gaily playing, colored folks were swaying'' :''on Emancipation Day.'' The two verses describe Dinah Lee's reaction to her boyfriend's presence among the troops, with the chorus being sung in her voice. :''Goodbye Alexander, goodbye honey boy'' :''Dressed up in that uniform, you fills my heart with joy'' :''Alexander Cooper was a colored trooper'' :''You ain't born for mopin', boy you sure can laugh'' :''But you left that window open and they got you in the draft.'' :''Alexander, I'll save my lovin' for you'' :''I'll be waiting like Poor Butterfly''

Recordings

The song was recorded by different artists and a number of variations found their way into these recordings.

Marion Harris Marion Harris (born Mary Ellen Harrison; March 25, 1897 – April 23, 1944) was an American popular singer who was most successful in the late 1910s and the 1920s. She was the first widely-known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs.Ward, Elij ...

recorded a version for

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

that included a lengthy monologue while a version recorded by

Ada Jones Ada Jane Jones (June 1, 1873 – May 2, 1922) was an English-American popular singer who made her first recordings in 1893 on Edison cylinders. She is among the earliest female singers to be recorded. Biography Jones was born in Lancashire, U ...

for

Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important and successful company in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by ...

dispensed with this. Wilbur Sweatman's Original Jazz Band and the Farber Sisters also recorded the song for Columbia Records.

References

External links

View the song MP3 and sheet music here
Songs of World War I 1918 songs Songs written by Turner Layton Songs with lyrics by Henry Creamer Songs about black people {{1910s-song-stub