| "Goodnight, Irene" | |
Sheet music for "Goodnight, Irene", by the Weavers. |
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| Written by | Huddie Ledbetter |
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| Published | 1934 |
| Written | 1908 |
| Language | English |
| Form | Waltz, Folk song |
| Original artist | Lead Belly (1932; 1949) |
| Recorded by | The Weavers (1950) Frank Sinatra (1950) Jerry Lee Lewis (1957) Johnny Cash (1958) The Kingston Trio (1969) Little Richard (1972) Ry Cooder (1976) Meat Puppets (1994) Deer Tick (2009) |
| Performed by | Willie Nelson |
"Goodnight, Irene" or "Irene, Goodnight," is a 20th century American folk standard, written in 3/4 time, first recorded by American blues musician Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter in 1932.
The lyrics tell of the singer's troubled past with his love, Irene, and express his sadness and frustration. Several verses make explicit references to suicidal fantasies, most famously in the line "sometimes I take a great notion to jump in the river and drown," which was the inspiration for the 1964 Ken Kesey novel Sometimes a Great Notion.
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Like many traditional folk songs, the specific origins of "Irene" are unclear. Lead Belly was singing a version of the song from as early as 1908, which he claimed to have learned from his uncle Terell. An 1886 song by Gussie L. Davis has several lyrical and structural similarities to the latter song, however no information on its melody has survived. Some evidence suggests the 1886 song was itself based on an even earlier song which has not survived. Regardless of where he first heard it, however, by the 1930s Lead Belly had made the song his own, modifying the rhythm and rewriting most of the verses.[1]
Lead Belly continued performing the song during his various prison terms, and it was while incarcerated at the Louisiana State Penitentiary that he encountered musicologists John and Alan Lomax who would go on to record hours of Lead Belly's performances. A few months prior to his release in 1934, Lead Belly recorded a number of his songs, including Irene, for the Library of Congress.[2]
"Irene" remained a staple of Lead Belly's performances throughout the 1930s and '40s. However, despite popularity within the New York blues community, the song was never commercially successful during his lifetime.
In 1950, one year after Leadbelly's death, the American folk band The Weavers recorded a version of "Goodnight, Irene". The single first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on June 30, 1950 and lasted 25 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1. Although generally faithful, the Weavers chose to omit some of Leadbelly's more controversial lyrics, leading Time magazine to label it a "dehydrated" and "prettied up" version of the original.[3] Due to the recording's popularity, however, The Weavers' lyrics are the ones generally used today. The Weavers' enormous success inspired many other artists to release their own versions of the song, many of which were themselves commercially successful.
Subsequent to 1950, the song was recorded by numerous artists across several genres. In 2002, Lead Belly's 1936 Library of Congress recording received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.
Frank Sinatra's cover, released only a month after The Weavers', lasted nine weeks on the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on July 10, peaking at #12. Later that same year, Ernest Tubb & Red Foley had a #1 country music record with the song,[4] and both Dennis Day and Jo Stafford released versions which made the Best Seller chart, peaking at #22 and #26 respectively. Moon Mullican also had a country hit with it in 1950.
On the Cash Box chart, where all available versions were combined in the standings, the song reached a peak position of #1 on September 2, 1950, and lasted at #1 for 10 weeks.[5]
The song was the basis for the 1950 parody called "Please Say Goodnight to the Guy, Irene" by Ziggy Talent. It also inspired the 1954 "answer" record "Wake Up, Irene" by Hank Thompson, a top ten hit on Billboard's country chart.
"Goodnight Irene" is sung by supporters of English football team Bristol Rovers. It was first sung at a fireworks display at the Stadium the night before a Home game against Plymouth Argyle in 1950. During the game the following day, Rovers were winning quite comfortably and the few Argyle supporters present began to leave early prompting a chorus of "Goodnight Argyle" from the Rovers supporters—the tune stuck and "Goodnight Irene" became the club song.[7][8]
| Preceded by "Mona Lisa" by Nat King Cole |
U.S. Billboard Best Sellers in Stores number-one single August 19–November 11, 1950 |
Succeeded by "Harbor Lights" by Sammy Kaye |
| Preceded by Mona Lisa |
Cash Box magazine best selling record chart #1 record September 2, 1950–November 4, 1950 |
Succeeded by Harbor Lights |
| Preceded by "I'm Movin' On" by Hank Snow |
Best Selling Retail Folk (Country & Western) Records number one single by Red Foley - Ernest Tubb with The Sunshine Trio August 26, 1950 - September 2, 1950 (two weeks) |
Succeeded by "I'm Movin' On" by Hank Snow |
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