"Just Awearyin' for You" is a

parlor song Parlour music (or parlor music) is a type of popular music which, as the name suggests, is intended to be performed in the parlours of houses, usually by amateur singers and piano, pianists. Disseminated as sheet music, its heyday came in the 19th ...

, one of that genre's all-time hits.

History

The lyrics were written by

Frank Lebby Stanton Frank Lebby Stanton (February 22, 1857 – January 7, 1927), frequently credited as Frank L. Stanton, Frank Stanton or F. L. Stanton, was an American lyricist. He was also the initial columnist for the ''Atlanta Constitution'' and became the ...

and published in his ''Songs of the Soil'' (1894). The tune was composed by

Carrie Jacobs-Bond Carrie Minetta Jacobs-Bond (August 11, 1862 – December 28, 1946) was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter who composed some 175 pieces of popular music from the 1890s through the early 1940s. She is perhaps best remembered for writing ...

and published as part of '' Seven Songs as Unpretentious as the Wild Rose'' in 1901.

Harry T. Burleigh Harry Burleigh (born Henry Thacker Burleigh, December 2, 1866 – September 12, 1949) was an American classical composer, arranger, and professional singer known for his baritone voice. The first black composer who was instrumental in dev ...

also composed a tune (copyrighted in 1906), but it never approached the popularity of the Jacobs-Bond tune. Although Stanton originally wrote the lyrics in dialect ("Jes' a-wearyin' fer you") for a column in the ''

Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Jo ...

'', the song has generally circulated with the more mainstreamed diction of the Jacobs-Bond version. Sentimental yet artful, "Just Awearyin' for You" has been recorded by numerous performers, including Elizabeth Spencer, Evan Williams,

Anna Case Anna Case (October 29, 1887 - January 7, 1984) was an American operatic lyric soprano. She recorded with Thomas Alva Edison, who used her voice extensively in "tone tests" of whether a live audience could tell the difference between the actual s ...

Sophie Braslau Sophie Braslau (August 16, 1892 – December 22, 1935) was a dramatic contralto prominent in United States opera, starting with her debut in New York City's Metropolitan Opera in 1913 when she was 21. Biography Braslau was born on August 16, 18 ...

Eleanor Steber Eleanor Steber (July 17, 1914October 3, 1990) was an American operatic soprano. Steber is noted as one of the first major opera stars to have achieved the highest success with training and a career based in the United States. Life and career E ...

, Gladys Swarthout,

Thomas Allen Thomas Allen may refer to: Clergy *Thomas Allen (nonconformist) (1608–1673), Anglican/nonconformist priest in England and New England *Thomas Allen (dean of Chester) (died 1732) *Thomas Allen (scholar) (1681–1755), Anglican priest in England * ...

and

Malcolm Martineau Malcolm Martineau, OBE (born 3 February 1960) is a Scottish pianist who is particularly noted as an accompanist. Life Martineau was born to the pianist Hester Dickson Martineau and Canon George Martineau in 1960. He was an only child but he had ...

(piano),

Johnny Hartman John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer, known for his rich baritone voice and recordings of ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. ...

, John Arwyn Davies,

Jane Morgan Jane Morgan (born Florence Catherine Currier; May 3, 1924) is an American former singer and recording artist of traditional pop. Morgan initially found success in France and the UK before achieving recognition in the US, receiving six gold re ...

, Peggy Balensuela (mezzo soprano) and William Hughes (piano),

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

(1934 and 1945) and

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

. In 1934

Jay Wilbur James Edward Wilbur (1898–1968) was a British bandleader and prolifically recorded musician identified with and influential in the era of British dance band music. Wilbur was born Wilbur Blinco in 1898 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. He ...

and his band did a

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

rendition. Set to the

key of C C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel minor i ...

, "Just Awearyin' for You" appears in

Mel Bay Melbourne Earl Bay (February 25, 1913 – May 14, 1997), known professionally as Mel Bay, was an American musician and publisher best known for his series of music education books. His '' Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords'', first published in 197 ...

's ''Modern Guitar Method Grade 6''. Along with " I Love You Truly" and " A Perfect Day", "Just Awearyin' for You" forms the triumvirate of works for which Jacobs-Bond is remembered. A dedicatory phrase "To F. B." atop the musical score (on p. 3 of the sheet music) refers to her second husband, Frederic Bond. Prior to publication with her tune, Jacobs-Bond was unaware that the lyrics were written by Stanton; she thought them anonymous as indicated in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

newspaper from which she took them. Once the oversight became apparent, Jacobs-Bond resolved the situation amicably with D. Appleton & Company, which had published Stanton's ''Songs of the Soil'', thus providing Stanton with a royalty stream that by his own admission brought him more revenue than everything else in ''Songs of the Soil'' combined. "Linger Not" and "Until God's Day" are two other songs on which Stanton and Jacobs-Bond collaborated.

References

{{authority control 1901 songs American pop songs Pop ballads Culture of Atlanta Music of Chicago Parlor songs Paul Robeson songs Pop standards Songs written by Carrie Jacobs-Bond Vaudeville songs