"Beautiful Dreamer" is a

parlor song Parlour music is a type of popular music which, as the name suggests, is intended to be performed in the parlours of houses, usually by amateur singers and pianists. Disseminated as sheet music, its heyday came in the 19th century, as a result of a ...

by American songwriter

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour and minstrel music during the Romantic period. He wrote more than 200 songs, inclu ...

. It was published posthumously in March 1864, by Wm. A. Pond & Co. of New York. The first edition states on its title page that it is "the last song ever written by Stephen C. Foster, composed but a few days prior to his death." However, Carol Kimball, the author of ''Song'', points out that the first edition's copyright is dated 1862, which suggests, she writes, that the song was composed and readied for publication two years before Foster's death. There are at least 20 songs, she observes, that claim to be Foster's last, and it is unknown which is indeed his last. The song is set in time with a

broken chord A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played o ...

accompaniment.Carol Kimball. ''Song: a guide to art song style and literature''. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 248.Michael Saffle. 2000. Perspectives on American music, 1900–1950 Taylor & Francis. p. 382. The song tells of a lover serenading a "Beautiful Dreamer" who is oblivious to worldly cares and may actually be dead. Foster's works feature many dead young women, including his sister Charlotte and "

Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster (1826–1864). It was published by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York in 1854. Foster wrote the song with his estranged wife Jane McDowell in mind. The lyrics allude to a permane ...

". Helen Lightner writes, "This sentimental ballad is folk-like in character with its repetitious but lovely

melody A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...

and its basic

harmonic A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the '' fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', ...

accompaniment ... The quiet and calm of this mood is portrayed by the monotony of the

arpeggiated A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played o ...

accompaniment, by the repetitiveness of the melodic pattern, and by the

strophic form Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, ...

itself."

Lyrics

Recordings, film, and literature

Recordings

The song has been recorded by

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 ...

with

John Scott Trotter John Scott Trotter Jr. (June 14, 1908 – October 29, 1975), also known as "Uncle John", was an American arranger, composer and orchestra leader. Trotter was best known for conducting the John Scott Trotter Orchestra which backed singer and ...

& his Orchestra (March 22, 1940); The Nutmegs; Steve Conway with Jack Byfield & His Orchestra;

Thomas Hampson Thomas Walter Hampson (born June 28, 1955) is an American lyric baritone, a classical singer who has appeared world-wide in major opera houses and concert halls and made over 170 musical recordings. Hampson's operatic repertoire spans a rang ...

with

Jay Ungar Jay Ungar (born November 14, 1946) is an American folk musician and composer. Life and career Ungar was born in the Bronx, New York City. He frequented Greenwich Village music venues during his formative period in the 1960s. In the late 1960s, ...

(mandolin), David Alpher (piano), and

Molly Mason Molly Mason is an American musician and composer and performs as a duo Jay & Molly with her husband Jay Ungar. Jay's composition, Ashokan Farewell, became the title theme of Ken Burns' The Civil War on PBS. The soundtrack won a Grammy and Ashoka ...

(guitar);

John Leyton John Dudley Leyton (born 17 February 1936) is an English actor and singer. As a singer he is best known for his hit song " Johnny Remember Me" (written by Geoff Goddard and produced by Joe Meek), which reached number one in the UK Singles Cha ...

(with revised lyrics by Ken Lewis and John Carter);

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

;

Slim Whitman Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr. (January 20, 1923 – June 19, 2013), known as Slim Whitman, was an American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his yodeling abilities and his use of falsetto. He claimed he had sold in excess of ...

; and

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

on the album '' In Dreams'' (a top ten Australian single in 1964). According to the 1991 DVD, 'Gentleman

Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman ...

- The Story of a Legend', the US singer recorded the song while on tour in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

in 1962, sung in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans g ...

under the title "Bolandse Nooientjie". (A brief translation is fraught; "lass of the hinterland" is one possibility.) Although Reeves could not speak Afrikaans, this was remedied by South African composer and songwriter Gilbert Gibson, who stood behind Reeves and whispered the words of the song to him, who would then sing the same words into the microphone. The song appeared on the 33 rpm LP 'The Jim Reeves Way' a 1965 UK 'red spot' label 12-track 'Dynagroove' Mono LP, co-produced by Chet Atkins & including two tracks sung in Afrikaans; one of which was Bolandse Nooientjie.

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You L ...

and Jack Keller wrote a

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

version for

Tony Orlando Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

which took considerable liberties with the original; the opening quatrain, for instance is "Beautiful Dreamer/Wake unto me/Can't you see me, baby/I'm on my bended knee." Orlando released this version as a single in 1962 and it quickly became a regular part of the Beatles' set list, from 1962 through

the Beatles Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour The Beatles' first English tour lasted from 2 February 1963 until 3 March 1963. The Beatles were fourth on an eleven-act bill headed by 16-year-old Londoner, Helen Shapiro. Other acts on the tour were the Red Price Band, The Kestrels, The Honey ...

in early 1963. A recording of a 1963 Beatles performance of the song on the BBC was released in 2013 on their album ''

On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 ''On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2'' is a 2013 live/compilation album featuring 40 previously unreleased tracks from the Beatles' 1963–1964 BBC Radio broadcasts (accompanied by 23 interview tracks from the associated broadcasts). It was ...

''.

Rory Storm and The Hurricanes Rory Storm (born Alan Ernest Caldwell; 7 January 1938 – 28 September 1972) was an English musician and vocalist. Born in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contempora ...

also featured the song in their live performances. This version has been recorded by

Billy J. Kramer William Howard Ashton (born 19 August 1943), known professionally as Billy J. Kramer, is an English pop singer. With The Dakotas, Kramer was managed by Brian Epstein during the 1960s and scored hits with several Lennon–McCartney compositions ...

with

The Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econo ...

Udo Jürgens Udo Jürgens (born Jürgen Udo Bockelmann; 30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014) was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close ...

recorded a German language version as ''Beautiful Dreamgirl'' in 1964.Udo Jürgens' version ''Beautiful Dreamgirl''
on ''YouTube'' Wolfgang Roloff aka "Ronny" (1930-2011) another one in 1975: "Träumendes Mädchen" ("Dreaming Girl").

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie Fran ...

recorded a bluesy version of the song with all-new lyrics, but the song was unreleased until 1999 (on the album ''Bobby Darin: The Unreleased Capitol Sides''). No attribution is given for the new lyrics; one possibility is that Darin might have written these himself. These lyrics tell about a lonely woman who dreams of a love of her own, and a lonely man who dreams of love too. The reference to a queen is retained in Darin's version, asking if the woman is a "queen without a throne". The song is also featured on

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...

' posthumous album ''Long, Long Ago'' (1984) and on Ray Price's posthumous farewell album ''Beauty Is... Ray Price, the Final Sessions'' (2014). The documentary '' Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile'' is named after the song, and in the documentary

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

quips that the first letters of the words "Beautiful Dreamer, Wake" compare with his own initials, Brian Douglas Wilson.

Film

Bette Davis hums the song in her Academy Award-winning performance, Best Actress, of 1938, ''

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

''. The song was central to the plot of the film '' Mighty Joe Young'', as it is used throughout the film to calm the title character, a large gorilla.Erb, Cynthia Marie (2009).
Tracking King Kong: A Hollywood Icon in World Culture
'.

Wayne State University Press Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University. It publishes under its own name and also the imprints Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), ...

. p. 140. Retrieved March 23, 2019. The tune is a motif in the film ''

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947 film) ''The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'' is a 1947 Technicolor comedy film, loosely based on the 1939 short story of the same name by James Thurber. The film stars Danny Kaye as a young daydreaming proofreader (later associate editor) for a magazine ...

'', where Virginia Mayo's character plays it at key points. In the 1952 biopic of Stephen Foster entitled '' I Dream of Jeanie'', there is a scene where Stephen Foster, played by

Bill Shirley William Jesse Shirley (July 6, 1921 – August 27, 1989) was an American actor and tenor/lyric baritone singer who later became a Broadway theatre producer. He is perhaps best known as the speaking and singing voice of Prince Phillip in Walt Disn ...

, sings this song as a serenade to one of his two love interests in the film. A recording of the Foster version was released with the "Truth or Square" episode of

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American Animated series, animated Television comedy, comedy Television show, television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It ...

featuring the voice of Roger Bumpass in 2009. Song is touched on repeatedly relating to the subliminal stimuli throughout 2018 film

Distorted (film) ''Distorted'' is a 2018 Canadian thriller film starring Christina Ricci and John Cusack. Plot Russell Curran ( Brendan Fletcher) is a successful businessman living in Portland, Oregon. His 32-year-old wife Lauren (Christina Ricci) suffers from ...

. The song is used as a recurring theme in '' Winchester'' (2018) with Helen Mirren. The song is used as a theme song in the 2020 Netflix movie ''Lost Girls''. In ''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victo ...

'' (1974), the song is referenced, when the ghoulish Marty Feldman, hearing a shrill and anguished female wail from a remote dungeon, smiles and (almost) sings "beautiful screamer...". In ''

Lorelei (film) ''Lorelei'' is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Sabrina Doyle in her feature directorial debut. It stars Pablo Schreiber, Jena Malone, Amelia Borgerding, Parker Pascoe-Sheppard, Chancellor Perry, and Gretchen Corbett. ''Lo ...

'' (2021) the song is featured in several scenes and gives the film its title.

Literature

The song is pivotal to

E. B. White Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including '' Stuart Little'' (1945), '' Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and '' The Trumpet of the Swan' ...

's 1970 novel ''

The Trumpet of the Swan ''The Trumpet of the Swan'' is a children's novel by E. B. White published in 1970. It tells the story of Louis (pronounced "LOO-ee" by the author in the audiobook, a reference to trumpeter Louis Armstrong, a point that is made explicit in th ...

''. Louis the trumpeter swan learns the tune during his long journey to find his voice via a stolen trumpet and a chalk slate. In a climactic scene, he belts out its poetry on his trumpet at dawn, declaring his love in the

Philadelphia Zoo The Philadelphia Zoo, located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, is the first true zoo in the United States. It was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, but its openi ...

to the beautiful swan Serena, the object of his long unrequited love. White also includes the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

sheet music in the novel, perhaps to encourage similarly dramatic loving gestures. The song was also used in ''

The Diviners ''The Diviners'' is a novel by Margaret Laurence. Published by McClelland & Stewart in 1974, it was Laurence's final novel, and is considered one of the classics of Canadian literature. The novel won the Governor General's Award for English-lan ...

'' book 2, ''Lair of Dreams'' by

Libba Bray Martha Elizabeth "Libba" Bray (March 11, 1964) is an American writer of young adult novels including the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, ''Going Bovine'', and '' The Diviners''. Early life Martha Elizabeth Bray was born in Montgomery, Alabama. Her fath ...

References

{{authority control 1864 songs American songs Bing Crosby songs Jerry Lee Lewis songs Jim Reeves songs Parlor songs Roy Orbison songs Slim Whitman songs Songs released posthumously Songs written by Stephen Foster The Beatles songs Tony Orlando songs Songs of the American Civil War