Little old church in the valley, The

The Little Old Church in the Valley
By Gus Kahn, Gene Arnold, Egbert Van Alstyne

My memory has painted a picture for me
In colours of silver and blue
And framed in the gold of the dear "Used To Be"
I see the old church that I knew

In the little old church in the valley
Where I first learned of sorrow and joy
I can see mother there 
With her head bowed in prayer
As she prayed for her wandering boy
It was there that I first found my Sally
Like an angel on earth so it seems
When she sang sweet and low in the long long ago
In the little old church of my dreams

The old friendly faces are near to me now
The same old sweet songs greet my ears
The Parson is praying, the heads gently bow
And slowly my eyes fill with tears

A song from the 1930s written and composed by Gus Kahn and Egbert Van Alstyne, songwriters associated with America’s Tin Pan Alley. Gene Arnold, a well-known radio announcer, was also given a writing credit. It’s hard not to suspect that this was a form of “payola” – a bribe given by a music publisher to ensure airplay.

In the United States it was equally likely to be sung by cowboy crooners or dance band singers. In Britain it was widely performed in the summer of 1931 in seaside variety shows, not strictly speaking Music Hall, but closely related. Amongst a myriad of performers, early adopters included Griffiths Moss, who performed it with his concert party at the Palladium Llanduudno, and Billie Manders’ who performed it with his troupe The Quaintesques at the Amphitheatre Rhyll.

The song featured in the repertoire of a number of a number of traditional performers.

Here it is sung by Turner Leighton and Clarence “Tandy” Johnstone, African-American performers who enjoyed huge success in England between the mid-1920s and mid 30s

Sources:

• VWML entry
• Lyrics: from Sheet Music (1931)

Last Updated on December 19, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: November 17, 2023