There's A Long Long Trail A-Winding
Encyclopedia
"There's a Long, Long Trail" is a popular song of World War I
. The lyrics were by Stoddard King (1889-1933) and the music by Alonzo "Zo" Elliott
, both seniors at Yale
.
It was published in London in 1914, but a December, 1913 copyright for the music is claimed by Zo Elliott.
In Elliott's own words to Marc Drogin
shortly before his death in 1964, he created the music as an idle pursuit one day in his dorm room at Yale in 1913. King walked in, liked the music and suggested a first line. Elliott sang out the second, and so they went through the lyrics. And they performed it -- with trepidation -- before the fraternity that evening. The interview was published as an article in the New Haven Register and later reprinted in Yankee Magazine. It then appeared on page 103 of "The Best of Yankee Magazine" [ISBN 0-89909-079-6] In the interview he recalled the day and the odd circumstances that led to the creation of this historic song.
Chorus:
Chorus:
(From the 1914 sheet music)
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The lyrics were by Stoddard King (1889-1933) and the music by Alonzo "Zo" Elliott
Alonzo Elliot
Alonzo Elliot was an American composer and songwriter.-Early life:Born in Manchester, New Hampshire, Elliot was educated at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, Phillips Academy , Yale University, Cambridge University, and Columbia Law School...
, both seniors at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
.
It was published in London in 1914, but a December, 1913 copyright for the music is claimed by Zo Elliott.
In Elliott's own words to Marc Drogin
Marc Drogin
Marc Drogin is an American writer and illustrator.-Biography:Drogin began work as a technical secretary, first at New York University, and then at Columbia University in New York City. His first drawings appeared as line fillers in New York’s The Village Voice in the 1950s...
shortly before his death in 1964, he created the music as an idle pursuit one day in his dorm room at Yale in 1913. King walked in, liked the music and suggested a first line. Elliott sang out the second, and so they went through the lyrics. And they performed it -- with trepidation -- before the fraternity that evening. The interview was published as an article in the New Haven Register and later reprinted in Yankee Magazine. It then appeared on page 103 of "The Best of Yankee Magazine" [ISBN 0-89909-079-6] In the interview he recalled the day and the odd circumstances that led to the creation of this historic song.
Lyrics
THERE'S A LONG, LONG TRAIL- Nights are growing very lonely,
- Days are very long;
- I'm a-growing weary only
- List'ning for your song.
- Old remembrances are thronging
- Thro' my memory
- Till it seems the world is full of dreams
- Just to call you back to me.
Chorus:
- There's a long, long trail a-winding
- Into the land of my dreams,
- Where the nightingales are singing
- And a white moon beams.
- There's a long, long night of waiting
- Until my dreams all come true;
- Till the day when I'll be going down
- That long, long trail with you.
- All night long I hear you calling,
- Calling sweet and low;
- Seem to hear your footsteps falling,
- Ev'ry where I go.
- Tho' the road between us stretches
- Many a weary mile,
- I forget that you're not with me yet
- When I think I see you smile.
Chorus:
- There's a long, long trail a-winding
- Into the land of my dreams,
- Where the nightingales are singing
- And a white moon beams.
- There's a long, long night of waiting
- Until my dreams all come true;
- Till the day when I'll be going down
- That long, long trail with you.
(From the 1914 sheet music)
Recordings
- Geoege W. Ballard (Edison Diamond Disk) 1916
- James F. Harrison (single) 1916
- John McCormack (single) 1917, mp3 and lyrics at http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/theresalonglongtrailawinding.htm
- In the film Smilin' Through (1941), Jeanette MacDonaldJeanette MacDonaldJeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy...
and a Men's Chorus sang it. - In the film For Me and My GalFor Me and My Gal (film)For Me and My Gal is a 1942 American musical film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly – in his screen debut – and George Murphy, and featuring Martha Eggerth and Ben Blue. The film was written by Richard Sherman, Fred F...
(1942), The King's Men sang it. - Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Bing Crosby sang it as a duet on radio in the 1950s. - New Victory Band on One More Dance and Then (1978) as "Long, Long Trail"
- Roberts and BarrandRoberts and BarrandRoberts and Barrand is a musical group formed in 1969 by John Roberts and Tony Barrand while they were graduate students in psychology at Cornell University...
on A Present from the Gentlemen (1992) as "Long, Long Tail" in "Great War Trilogy" - Friends of Fiddler's GreenFriends of Fiddler's GreenFriends of Fiddler's Green is a Canadian folk music group based in Toronto. The original members of the group for its first recording, The Road to Mandalay, were Grit Laskin, Tam Kearney, Ian Robb, Laurence Stevenson, David Parry, and Jeff McClintock on keyboards...
on The Road to Mandalay (1994) as "The Long, Long, Trail"
Television
- Schroeder performs the song on piano for Snoopy in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie BrownIt's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie BrownIt's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a 1966 American prime time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz....
. - Charlie Brown and his fellow summer campers sing the song around the campfire in It Was a Short Summer, Charlie BrownIt Was a Short Summer, Charlie BrownIt Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown is the sixth prime-time animated TV specials based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. It was directed by Bill Meléndez and originally aired on CBS on September 27, 1969...
as the scene dissolves into the next morning's reveilleReveille"Reveille" is a bugle call, trumpet call or pipes call most often associated with the military or summer camp; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise...
. - Colonel Potter, Hawkeye, and B.J. sing a chorus in the M*A*S*H episode "Change of Command".
- Students at Bamfylde School sing the song in To Serve Them All My DaysTo Serve Them All My Days (TV series)To Serve Them All My Days is a British television adaptation of the 1972 novel by R. F. Delderfield. 13 episodes 50 minute in length were first shown by the BBC in 1980 and 1981....
. - Jack Ford (James Bolam) and Matt Headley (Malcolm Terris) get drunk and sing this together in an episode of When The Boat Comes In.
- Fictional character Jason Walton performs a portion of the song in The WaltonsThe WaltonsThe Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
episode "The Hero".
Fiction
- In The Postman Always Rings TwiceThe Postman Always Rings TwiceThe Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1934 crime novel by James M. Cain.The novel was quite successful and notorious upon publication, and is regarded as one of the more important crime novels of the 20th century...
by James M. CainJames M. CainJames Mallahan Cain was an American author and journalist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hardboiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the roman noir...
, the first two verses of the chorus are quoted at the beginning of Chapter 7. (ISBN 0-679-72325-0 (pbk.), p. 39). - In author Russell Kirk's short story "There's a Long, Long Trail A-Winding".
External links
- Note and audio at firstworldwar.com
- Sheet music for "There's a Long, Long Trail", M. Witmark & Sons, 1914.