Moonlight Bay

"Moonlight Bay"
Cover, sheet music, 1912
Song

"Moonlight Bay" is a popular song. It is commonly referred to as "On Moonlight Bay".

The lyrics were written by Edward Madden, the music by Percy Wenrich, and was published in 1912. It was often sung in a Barbershop Quartet style. There has been some controversy about whether the original lyrics are, "We could hear the voices ringing." or "We could hear the darkies singing." The latter appears in several movies (e.g., "Ship Ahoy" starring Red Skelton and others); however the original sheet music and the 1912 Edison wax cylinder recording use "voices."

The song was one of a number of early-20th-century songs which were used as titles of musical films made by Doris Day in the late 1940s and early 1950s. See On Moonlight Bay.

Verses

Voices hum, crooning over Moonlight Bay

Banjos strum, tuning while the moonbeams play

All alone, unknown they find me

Memories like these remind me

Of the girl I left behind me

Down on Moonlight Bay

Candle lights gleaming on the silent shore

Lonely nights, dreaming till we meet once more

Far apart, her heart, is yearning

With a sigh for my returning

With the light of love still burning

As in of days of yore

Chorus

We were sailing along

On Moonlight Bay.

We could hear the voices ringing;

They seemed to say,

"You have stolen her heart"

"Now don't go 'way!"

As we sang Love's Old Sweet Song

On Moonlight Bay

Notable covers

• A 1951 duet performance by Bing Crosby and Gary Crosby reached hit status.

See also

• On Moonlight Bay (film)

External links

• Recording by Billy Murray and the American Quartet
• Template:MetroLyrics song