Goodnight, Irene

"Goodnight, Irene"
Sheet music for "Goodnight, Irene" by the Weavers
Song by Lead Belly
Released	1943
Genre	Folk
Length	2:25
Label	Melodisc
Writer(s)	Lead Belly

"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 1933.

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 and a song of the same name from John Mellencamp's 1989 album, Big Daddy, itself strongly informed by traditional American folk music.^[1]

Lead Belly

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 uncles Terell and Bob. An 1892 song by Gussie L. Davis has several lyrical and structural similarities to the latter song; a copy of the sheet music is available from the Library of Congress.^[2] Some evidence suggests the 1892 song was itself based on an even earlier song which has not survived. Regardless of where he first heard it, by the 1930s Lead Belly had made the song his own, modifying the rhythm and rewriting most of the verses.^[3]

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.^[3] An extended version of the song that includes narratives connecting the verses appears in Negro Folk Songs as Sung by Lead Belly.^[4] "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 2002, Lead Belly's 1936 Library of Congress recording received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

Covers

In 1950, one year after Leadbelly's death, the American folk band The Weavers recorded a version of "Goodnight, Irene".^[5] The single first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on June 30, 1950 and lasted 25 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1.^[6] 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.^[7] Due to the recording's popularity, however, The Weavers' lyrics are the ones generally used today. Billboard ranked this version as the No. 1 song of 1950.^[8]

The Weavers' enormous success inspired many other artists to release their own versions of the song, many of which were themselves commercially successful across several genres. 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 #5.^[9] Later that same year, Ernest Tubb and Red Foley had a #1 country music record with the song,^[10] and the Alexander Brothers, Dennis Day and Jo Stafford released versions which made the Best Seller chart, peaking at #26,^[11] #17^[12] and #9^[13] respectively. Moon Mullican had a number 5 country hit with it in 1950,^[14] and a version by Paul Gayten and his Orchestra reached number 6 on the Billboard R&B chart in the same year.^[15]

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 13 weeks.^[16]

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 #1 on Billboard's country chart.^[17]

Other hit versions

• 1959: Billy Williams reached number 75 on the US Billboard pop chart.^[18]
• 1962: Jerry Reed reached number 79 on the US pop chart.^[19]

Use in 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.^[20][21]

Other uses

In professional wrestling, "Adorable" Adrian Adonis frequently referred to his finishing move—a standard sleeperhold—as "Goodnight, Irene." ^[22]

In the novel 'Housekeeping' (1980), written by Marilynne Robinson, both Sylvie and Helen sing this song several times.

The 1993 Moxy Fruvous recording "The Drinking Song" includes a reference to "Goodnight, Irene":

Sang a few bars of some pretty old song.

Irene good night. Irene goodnight

Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene

I'll see you, in my dreams.

"Goodnight Irene" makes an appearance in the 2013 video game, BioShock Infinite (which is set in 1912), during the introductory "raffle" scene. It is sung in the background by the crowd of people at the raffle, until Booker approaches.^[23]

Dee hums "Goodnight Irene" in an episode of Battlestar Galactica.^[24]

In the PC game Team Fortress 2, the Engineer will sometimes give the response "Well goodnight Irene!" when using a negative taunt, implying he is fed up.

See also

• "If It Had Not Been For Jesus", a Christian gospel song to the same tune, first recorded in 1930 by Blind Willie Johnson
• "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On", a song by Woody Guthrie the tune of which is modified from "Goodnight Irene"

References

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

1. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Big Daddy". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
2. Irene, Good Night, Words and Music by Gussie L. Davis New York: M. Witmark & Sons, 1892. Library of Congress Call Number M1622.D
3. Wolfe, Charles K; Lornell, Kip (1999-05-06). "The life and legend of Leadbelly". ISBN 978-0-306-80896-8.
4. Negro Folk Songs as Sung by Lead Belly, Transcribed, Selected and Edited by John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1936, pp. 235-242.
5. Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 1 - Play A Simple Melody: American pop music in the early fifties. [Part 1]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu.
6. "Goodnight Irene (song by Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra and the Weavers) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
7. "Good Night, Irene". Time magazine. 1950-08-14.
8. "Number One Song of the Year: 1946-2015". Bobborst.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
9. "Goodnight Irene (song by Frank Sinatra) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
10. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 123.
11. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, Inc. p. 21. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
12. "Goodnight, Irene (song by Dennis Day) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. 1950-08-19. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
13. "Goodnight, Irene (song by Jo Stafford) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. 1950-08-26. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
14. Whitburn, Joel (1994). Top Country Singles 1944-1993. Record Research. p. 250.
15. Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. p. 167.
16. Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Record Research.
17. "Wake Up Irene (song by Hank Thompson) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
18. Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 766. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
19. Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 584. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
20. "DOWNLOAD GOODNIGHT IRENE NOW!!". Bristol Rovers F.C. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
21. "The Old, Weird Everywhere: Bristol Rovers and "Goodnight, Irene"". Pitch Invasion. 16 February 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
22. Deadrich, Jason (2015-09-23). "Adrian Adonis – Online World of Wrestling". Onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
23. "Bioshock Infinite Music - Goodnight, Irene (1932) by Lead Belly". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
24. "'Battlestar Galactica's' Ron Moore addresses the shocking developments of 'Sometimes a Great Notion'". Chicago Tribune. January 17, 2009.

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.