In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree is a popular song dating from 1905. It was written by Harry Williams and

Egbert Van Alstyne Egbert Anson Van Alstyne (March 4, 1878 – July 9, 1951) was an American songwriter and pianist. Van Alstyne was the composer of a number of popular and ragtime tunes of the early 20th century. Biography Van Alstyne was born in Marengo, Il ...

(music). Popular recordings in 1905 were by Henry Burr; Albert Campbell; Haydn Quartet; and by

Arthur Pryor Arthur Willard Pryor (September 22, 1869 – June 18, 1942) was a trombone virtuoso, bandleader, and soloist with the Sousa Band. He was a prolific composer of band music, his best-known composition being "The Whistler and His Dog". In lat ...

's Band. Other recordings were by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

(Brunswick 6646, recorded August 15, 1933),

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

and

The Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies an ...

(Decca 1495, recorded June 29, 1937) and

Alma Cogan Alma Angela Cohen Cogan (19 May 1932 – 26 October 1966) was an English singer of traditional pop in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed the "Girl with the Giggle in Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era. C ...

(1962).

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

included the song in a medley on his album ''

On the Sentimental Side ''On the Sentimental Side'' was intended to be a long-playing vinyl album and it was recorded in June 1962 by Bing Crosby for his own company, Project Records at United Recording, Hollywood. The album is in a “sing-along” style and Crosby ove ...

'' (1962). The meter of its chorus is in the form of a

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

. It can safely be characterized as a highly sentimental tune. Although the verses (seldom heard nowadays) provide further explanation, it is clear that the writer is singing about a lost love: :In the shade of the old apple tree, :Where the love in your eyes I could see, :Where the voice that I heard, :Like the song of a bird, :Seemed to whisper sweet music to me, :I could hear the dull buzz of the bee :In the blossoms as you said to me, :"With a heart that is true, :"I'll be waiting for you, :In the shade of the old apple tree."

Other uses

In the movie '' The Wizard of Oz'', in the scene involving the talking apple trees who become angry with Dorothy for picking apples off them, the strains of this song are heard in the instrumental underscore. Similarly, in Warner Bros. cartoons, for example, the tune was invoked in underscore sometimes, when trees were appearing on the screen. In the movie ''

Blondie in Society ''Blondie in Society'' is a 1941 black-and-white comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, and Larry Simms. It is the ninth of the 28 features in the Blondie film series. Plot Dagwood is given a Great ...

'' (1941)'', a scene involves Blondie (Penny Singleton) singing the song to their Great Dane showdog.

Parody

A song like this, dripping with sentiment even by early-1900s standards, lent itself to parodies. Billy Murray recorded one. The verse describes him passing by the house of Maggie Jones, a maiden "homelier than me", who asks him to fetch some apples on the promise of giving him one of the pies she plans to bake. That verse continues into the chorus: :So I climbed up the old apple tree, :For a pie was a real thing to me. :She stood down below :With her apron spread "so" :To catch all the apples, you see. :It looked like a picnic for me, :But just then the limb broke; holy gee! :And I broke seven bones :And half-killed Maggie Jones :In the shade of the old apple tree.

Ramblin' Jack Elliott Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliot Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adnopoz, a ...

recorded a parody version entitled "Shade of the Old Apple Tree," included on his 1964 album Jack Elliott: :It was only yesterday I thought I'd take a bath in some water :For a bath I hadn't had in goodness knows when :And for that bath I didn't want to pay a quarter :So I run down to the creek and jumped right in. :I hung my clothes upon an apple tree limb :'Twas there I got into an awful fix :When an old maid come down down and set beside them :And there she sat from one o'clock to six. :(Chorus:) In the shade of the old apple tree :I was in water right up to my knee :I had to lay down while she was around :'Til only my nose you could see :Mosquitoes was biting my nose :And the crawdads was nibbling my toes :I lay there all day 'til she went away :From the shade of the old apple tree. :(Spoken:) Here comes the pitiful part, boys and girls. :It was only yesterday that Jane and I got hitched :You bet your life I was a happy groom :There was only one thing that filled my heart with sadness :Was parts of her were scattered all over the room. :Her glass eye and false teeth was on the mantle :And on the bed she hung her lock of hair :And there was only one thing that filled my heart with sadness :Was she pitched her wooden leg upon the chair :And it was a limb from that old apple tree :(Repeat rest of chorus) :Yes I carved out my name and there it was plain :On her limb from the old apple tree.

References

External links

Henry Burr, straightforward version

Billy Murray's parody
{{authority control Songs about trees 1905 songs Parlor songs Billy Murray (singer) songs Songs with music by Egbert Van Alstyne Songs with lyrics by Harry Williams (songwriter)