Goodnight, Irene

"Goodnight, Irene"
Sheet music for "Goodnight, Irene", by the Weavers.
Written by	Huddie Ledbetter
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 Originals (1967) 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.

Lead Belly

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.

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.

"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.

Covers

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. 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, 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.

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.

Selected list of recorded versions

• 1934 Lead Belly, Library of Congress, also recorded in 1947, 1948, and 1949 during sessions and live performances.
• 1950 The Weavers, US #1
• 1950 Frank Sinatra, US #1
• 1950 Ernest Tubb & Red Foley, US #1 country
• 1950 Moon Mullican, US #5 country
• 1957 Jerry Lee Lewis
• 1958 Johnny Cash
• 1960 Jim Reeves
• 1960 Mississippi John Hurt (album: Last Sessions)
• 1964 Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix (album: Little Richard Is Back (And There's a Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!))
• 1967 Originals on Soul Records, part of Motown Records
• 1969 The Kingston Trio (album: Once Upon a Time)
• 1971 John Sebastian (album: Cheapo-Cheapo Productions Presents Real Live John Sebastian)
• 1972 Mitch Miller and the Gang (Mitch Miller's Greatest Sing Along hits)
• 1975 Jerry Lee Lewis
• 1976 Ry Cooder (album: Chicken Skin Music)
• 1976 James Booker (album: Junco Partner)
• 1979 Raffi (album: Corner Grocery Store)
• 1986 John Koerner (Album: Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Been)
• 1986 Michelle Shocked (album: The Texas Campfire Tapes)
• 1989 Maureen "Mo" Tucker (album: Life in Exile After Abdication)
• 1992 Half Man Half Biscuit (Peel Session)
• 1992 Dr. John (album: Goin' Back to New Orleans)
• 1994 Meat Puppets (EP: Raw Meat)
• 1999 Kelly Joe Phelps (album: Shine Eyed Mister Zen)
• 2005 Bill Frisell (album: East/West)
• 2006 Tom Waits (album: Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards)
• 2007 Shivaree, (album Tainted Love: Mating Calls and Fight Songs)
• 2007 Band from TV, with Hugh Laurie doing piano and vocals (album Hoggin' All The Covers)
• 2009 Deer Tick, secret song (album: Born On Flag Day)
• 2011 The Revival Tour, Brian Fallon, Good Night Irene (album: The Revival Tour)

Use in association football

"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.

See also

• "Kisses Sweeter than Wine", another Lead Belly song covered by The Weavers

References

• Oliver, Paul (1984). Songsters and saints: vocal traditions on race records. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-24827-2.

External links

• Good Night Irene - lyrics and midi on RienziHills.com Retrieved on 2009-08-10.
• Recording of Good Night Irene in .ram (Real Audio Metadata) format on LeadBelly.org (The first verse of Good Night Irene is also played on the Intro page of LeadBelly.org without requiring the Real Audio download.) Retrieved on January 7, 2012.
• http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-originals-p5076

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