Poignant 1917 vaudeville favorite, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, music by Harry Carroll but obviously adapted from Fredric Chopin's "Fantaisie-Impromptu." Sung memorably on film by Judy Garland in "Ziegeld Girl" in 1941.
Originally a piano solo composed by Irish-born operetta king Victor Herbert in 1919. Lyrics by Al Dubin added later, leading to the song's enduring popularity as a Big Band Era standard.
Music by Irishman James L. Molloy(1837-1909), lyrics by G. Clifton Bingham, 1884. Victorian music hall standard. Molloy also wrote "The Kerry Dance."
Music by Egbert Van Alstyne(1882-1951), lyrics by Gustavus(Gus)Kahn(1886-1941), 1915. The first of what would be dozens of standards by lyricist Gus Kahn for Tin Pan Alley, on Broadway and in Hollywood. Van Alstyne also wrote "In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree" and "Pretty Baby" (see Holidays/Baby and Occasions/Valentine's Day).
Traditional American folk song describing the unrequited love between a settler and an Indian maiden, a poem of parting. To these ears, it has always provided a majestic evocation of early America in all its untamed natural glory, a new country on the path to every possibility and unimaginable achievement.
Words & Music by Shelton Brooks, 1910. Brooks(1886-1975) was a black, Canadian-born vaudevillian, also the author of "At The Dark Town Strutters' Ball" in 1917. Early on, Brooks got the song to immortal Red Hot Mama Sophie Tucker who made it her celebrated theme song for the next 6 decades.