"Moonlight Bay" is a popular

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

. It is commonly referred to as "On Moonlight Bay". The lyrics were written by Edward Madden, the music by

Percy Wenrich Percy Wenrich (January 23, 1880 – March 17, 1952) was an American composer of ragtime and popular music. He is best known for writing the songs "Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet" and "When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose", along with the ...

, and was published in 1912. It is often sung in a

barbershop quartet A barbershop quartet is a group of four singers who sing music in the barbershop style, characterized by four-part harmony without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella). The four voices are: the lead, the vocal part which typically carries t ...

style. Early successful recordings in 1912 were by the American Quartet and by Dolly Connolly.

Notable covers

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

and his Orchestra recorded the song on March 22, 1937, with a special swing arrangement by Miller. * The song was featured the film ''

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...

'' (1940), where it was sung by

Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as '' On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime ...

. Faye also included the song in her 1962 album ''Alice Faye Sings Her Greatest Movie Hits''. * The song, sung in barbershop quartet style, features in the first

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Me ...

cartoon, ''

Porky's Duck Hunt ''Porky's Duck Hunt'' is a 1937 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Tex Avery. The cartoon was released on April 17, 1937, and stars Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, the latter making what is considered his first official appearance. Plo ...

'' (1937). *

Porky Pig Porky Pig is a cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his celebrity, star power, and the animators created man ...

repeatedly tries to sing the song in the 1942 cartoon '' My Favorite Duck''. * The

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

recorded the song in 1940 for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. * The song was featured in the musical film '' On Moonlight Bay'' (1951) and gave the film its title; it was sung by

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

and

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer, and television and radio host. He appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956), and ...

. Day also recorded the song commercially, and it appeared on her 1951 album '' On Moonlight Bay'', featuring songs from the film. * A duet performance by

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

and Gary Crosby was recorded on March 22, 1951, and reached No. 14 in the Billboard charts in 1951. *

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

performed "Moonlight Bay" with comedians

Eric Morecambe John Eric Bartholomew (14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984), known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's de ...

and

Ernie Wise Ernest Wiseman (27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known by his stage name Ernie Wise, was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became a national institution on British television, especially f ...

on the duo's ATV programme '' Two of a Kind'' in December 1963. A recording of the performance was released on the Beatles' album ''

Anthology 1 ''Anthology 1'' is a compilation album of music by the Beatles, released on 20 November 1995 by Apple Records as part of ''The Beatles Anthology'' series. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the period 1958–64, inclu ...

'' in 1995. * The song was sung in episodes of ''

Hey Arnold! ''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Craig Bartlett for Nickelodeon. It originally aired from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandparents in an inner ...

'' * In the 1942 film '' Ship Ahoy'',

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

leads his orchestra while

Eleanor Powell Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American dancer and actress. Best remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's top dancing stars durin ...

does a tap dance conveying a message in Morse code.

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 days of yore

Chorus

:We were sailing along :On Moonlight Bay. :We could hear the voices ringing; :They seemed to say, :"You have stolen my heart" :"Now don't go 'way!" :As we sang "

Love's Old Sweet Song "Love's Old Sweet Song" is a Victorian parlour song published in 1884 by composer James Lynam Molloy and lyricist Graham Clifton Bingham. The first line of the chorus is "Just a song at twilight", and its title is sometimes misidentified as such ...

" :On Moonlight Bay The original sheet music and 1912 recordings use the lyrics above.

References

External links

Recording by Billy Murray and the American Quartet
Songs with music by Percy Wenrich Songs with lyrics by Edward Madden (lyricist) 1912 songs Looney Tunes songs Doris Day songs Billy Murray (singer) songs The Beatles songs {{1910s-song-stub