This seemes to be the seminal thread on this song, so I'll tag it for DTStudy indexing. Here are the Traditional Ballad Index entry, and the lyrics as found in the Digital Tradition. Note that the Digital Tradition has no chorus and has a typo on Saturday...
-Joe Offer-
GOOD NIGHT IRENE
(Leadbelly)
Last saturday night, I got married,
Me and my wife settled down
Now me and my wife are parted,
I'm gonna take another stroll downtown
Sometimes I live in the country,
sometimes I live in town
Sometimes I take a great notion,
To jump into the river and drown.
I love Irene, God knows I do,
I'll love her till the seas run dry
But if Irene should turn me down,
I'd take the morphine and die.
Stop rambling, stop your gambling
Stop staying out late at night,
Go home to your wife and your family
Stay there by your fireside bright.
@love @drugs @marriage
filename[ IRENGDNT
DG
PLEASE NOTE: Because of the volunteer nature of The Digital Tradition, it is difficult to ensure proper attribution and copyright information for every song included. Please assume that any song which lists a composer is copyrighted ©. You MUST aquire proper license before using these songs for ANY commercial purpose. If you have any additional information or corrections to the credit or copyright information included, please e-mail those additions or corrections to us (along with the song title as indexed) so that we can update the database as soon as possible. Thank You.Goodnight Irene
DESCRIPTION: The singer describes how he courted Irene. Now he and his wife are parted. "And if Irene turns her back on me, gonna take morphine and die." Chorus: "Irene, goodnight, Irene, goodnight; Goodnight, Irene, goodnight, Irene, I'll (get/see) you in my dreams."
AUTHOR: popular version by Huddie Ledbetter ("Lead Belly")
EARLIEST DATE: 1936 (copyright)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation drugs suicide loneliness floatingverses
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Lomax-FSNA 315, "Irene" (1 text, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 48, "Irene, Goodnight" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 307-308, "Irene (Goodnight, Irene)"
DT, IRENGDNT
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Goodnight, Irene" (on PeteSeeger24) (on PeteSeeger43)
Gordon Jenkins & The Weavers, "Goodnight Irene" (Decca 27077, 1950; on Weavers01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Dark and Dreary Weather" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Willy, Poor Boy" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Rambling Round" (approximate tune)
Notes: Fuld quotes the Lomaxes to the effect that Lead Belly learned the chorus of this song from his uncle. Many of the verses can also be shown to be older. To what extent Lead Belly created this song, as opposed to reshaping the materials, cannot now be determined.
The 1888 song "Irene, Goodnight," sung by the Haverly Minstrels and credited by Spaeth to "Davis"(but dated 1892), is a separate piece. - RBW
According to Seeger, Lead Belly said Irene was a sixteen-year-old girl he knew, who took up with a rambler. - PJS
File: LoF315Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index InstructionsThe Ballad Index Copyright 2002 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.
The DT also has Mudcatter Chet W's Goodnight Irene, and Good Night Irene Parody, submitted by the infamous DG.