Carolina in the Morning

"Carolina in the Morning" is a popular song with words by Gus Kahn and music by Walter Donaldson, first published in 1922 by Jerome H. Remick & Co.

The song debuted on Broadway in the elaborate (and risqué) musical revue The Passing Show of 1922 at the Winter Garden Theater by William Frawley (who later sang it on an episode of I Love Lucy), where it generated moderate attention. Vaudeville performers incorporated it into their acts and helped popularize it.

Notable recordings when the song was new were made by such artists as Marion Harris, Van & Schenck, and Al Jolson.

"Carolina in the Morning" gradually became a standard, being revived regularly as a popular song into the 1950s. Al Jolson's 1947 re-recording of the song outsold the original.

Other artists to have later successes with the song included Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Jimmy Durante, Dinah Shore, Judy Garland, and Danny Kaye. In 1957, Bill Haley & His Comets recorded a rock and roll version.

Contents

Lyrics

The original 1922 lyrics (now public domain in the United States due to age) are given below. The chorus remains well known, but the verses have generally been omitted from vocal performances since the early years of the song's popularity. The verses give a hint of melancholy to the song, while the chorus on its own can be an almost ecstatic reverie.

The popular chorus has a catchy melody, constructed more creatively by Walter Donaldson than most Tin Pan Alley popular songs of the era. Gus Kahn's clever lyrics use playful wording and subsidiary rhymes within lines in a manner found in some of the better novelty songs of the era, but seldom found in songs where the effect was romantic rather than comic.

First verse

Wishing is good time wasted,
Still it's a habit they say;
Wishing for sweets I've tasted,
That's all I do all day.
Maybe there's nothing in wishing,
But speaking of wishing I'll say:

Chorus

Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning,
No one could be sweeter than my sweetie when I meet her in the morning.
Where the morning glories
Twine around the door,
Whispering pretty stories
I long to hear once more.
Strolling with my girlie where the dew is pearly early in the morning,
Butterflies all flutter up and kiss each little buttercup at dawning,
If I had Aladdin's lamp for only a day,
I'd make a wish and here's what I'd say:
Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning.

Second verse

Dreaming was meant for nighttime,
I live in dreams all the day;
I know it's not the right time,
But still I dream away.
What could be sweeter than dreaming,
Just dreaming and drifting away.

(Repeat Chorus)

Use

Carolina in the Morning has been used in public celebrations in the states North Carolina and South Carolina. It is also frequently sung by collegiate a cappella groups. The song was also recorded by Brent Spiner for his 1991 album Ol' Yellow Eyes Is Back. Among the more colorful renditions of this song was in the Warner Bros. cartoon Book Revue (1946) in which Daffy Duck sings a Russian-accented version, imitating a then famous Danny Kaye characterization, saying "feener", "Caroleena", etc., while wearing a zoot suit. In 1951, Alfred Hitchcock chose a mechanical-orchestra version to play at an amusement park as a prelude to Miriam's murder in Strangers on a Train.