"Goodbye, Little Darlin', Goodbye" (also known as "Goodby Little Darlin") is a 1939 song written by

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

and

Johnny Marvin John Senator Marvin (July 11, 1897 – December 10, 1944) was an early American recording artist and musician, starting in 1924 and covering a twenty-year period for many record labels. Early years Born in Butler, Oklahoma, Butler, Oklahom ...

. Autry sang it (as a duet with Mary Lee) in the December 1939 movie '' South of the Border,'' and released it as a single in April 1940. It went on to make both Popular and

Hillbilly ''Hillbilly'' is a term historically used for White people who dwell in rural area, rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, ...

(

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

) listings for 1940. The song would be notably recorded by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...

probably on December 13, 1956, and released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

(Sun 331, with " You Tell Me" on the opposite side) in September 1959,
when he had already left the label for Columbia.

Cash version

According to John M. Alexander's book ''The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash'', the song was not released as a single:

Chart performance

Gene Autry

Johnny Cash

References

{{authority control 1939 songs 1940 singles 1959 singles Songs written by Gene Autry Songs written by Johnny Marvin Sun Records singles Johnny Cash songs Gene Autry songs Breakup songs