{"id":17578,"date":"2022-11-03T06:55:29","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T06:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=17578"},"modified":"2025-12-09T09:51:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T09:51:41","slug":"bill-bailey-wont-you-please-come-home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/bill-bailey-wont-you-please-come-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Bailey, won’t you please come home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>(Won’t you come home) Bill Bailey<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1902<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>Hughie Cannon<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN4325<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Victoria Monks<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Ford, Warde; USA : California; 1939
Browne, Mrs. Nola; USA : Alabama; 1952
Turner, Mrs. Lily; USA : Alabama; 1953
MacIntosh, Ed; Canada : Nova Scotia 1988
Adamson, Dave H. USA : Illinois; no date<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This song uses racist language and draws on stereotypes in a way that was commonplace at the time but no longer acceptable today.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On one Summer's day, Sun was shining fine\nThe lady love of old Bill Bailey\nWas hanging clothes on the line\nIn her back yard, and weeping (or crying) hard\nShe married a B. and O. brakeman dat took and throw'd her down\nBellering like a prune-fed calf, wid a big gang hanging 'round\nAnd to dat crowd, she yelled out loud,\n\nWon't you come home, Bill Bailey, won't you come home?\nShe moans de whole day long\nI'll do de cooking darling, I'll pay de rent,\nI knows I've done you wrong\nMember dat rainy eve dat I drove you out\nWid nothing but a fine tooth comb\nI knows I'se to blame, ain't dat a shame\nBill Bailey won't you please come home?'<\/em>\n\nBill drove by dat door, in an automobile\nA great big diamond, coach and foot man\nHear dat big wench squeal,\n'He's all alone' I heard her groan\nShe hollared thro' that door, 'Bill bailey is you sore ?\nStop a minute, won't you listen to me, won't I see you no more?'\nBill winked his eye as he heard her cry,<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
An American comic song from the early 20th century which based its humour racist stereotypes, at the time such songs were known as “coon songs”. The song was a huge hit throughout the English-speaking world and became a jazz standard. In the British Music Halls it was particularly associated with the performer  Victoria Monks<\/a>  who started singing the song in 1904,  combining it with a “characteristic cakewalk dance”<\/em>  suggesting that the performer  reinforced the lyrics with racist physical comedy, though there is no suggestion that she wore blackface minstrel make up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song has been collected from traditional singers in America and Canada, but it was such a popular song that it’s likely to have also been sung by similar performers in Britain and elsewhere. Later versions tend to strip out the most outrageous elements of the racist patois in the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A recording or download of this song can be purchased from Windyridge CDs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n