View source for (Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey

{{Short description|Song performed by Al Hirt}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2012}}
{{For|the English musician and comedian|Bill Bailey}}
{{infobox song
| name           = (Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey
| image          = BillBailey1902Cover.jpg
| caption        = 1902 sheet music cover, words and music written by Hughie Cannon published by Howley, Haviland and Dresser
| type           = song
| artist         = [[Al Hirt]]
| composer       = [[Hughie Cannon]]
| published      = Howley, Haviland and Dresser
| written        = 1902
| genre          = [[Dixieland jazz]], [[jazz standard]]
}}
"'''(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey'''", originally titled "'''Bill Bailey, Won't You Please.... Come Home?'''" is a popular song published in 1902. It is commonly referred to as simply "'''Bill Bailey'''".

The words and music were written by [[Hughie Cannon]], an American songwriter and pianist, and it was published by [[Paul Dresser#Howley, Haviland and Company|Howley, Haviland and Dresser]]. It is still a standard with [[Dixieland]] and traditional [[jazz]] bands. The simple 32-bar chord sequence of its chorus also underpins many other tunes played mainly by jazz bands, such as "[[Sobre las Olas|Over the Waves]]", "[[Washington and Lee Swing]]", "[[Bourbon Street Parade]]", "My Little Girl", and the final themes of "[[Tiger Rag]]" and "[[The Beer Barrel Polka]]".

==Origin==
[[File:Bill Bailey Victor Monarch 1902.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|May 1902 Victor Monarch recording of [[Dan W. Quinn]] performing "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?"]]
Cannon wrote the song in 1902 when he was working as a bar pianist at Conrad Deidrich's Saloon in [[Jackson, Michigan]]. Willard "Bill" Bailey, also a jazz musician, was a regular customer and friend, and one night told Cannon about his marriage to Sarah (née Siegrist). Cannon "was inspired to rattle off a ditty about Bailey's irregular hours. Bailey thought the song was a scream (i.e. very good), and he brought home a dashed-off copy of the song to show Sarah. Sarah couldn't see the humor...[but] accepted without comment the picture it drew of her as a wife." Cannon sold all rights to the song to a New York publisher, and he died from cirrhosis at age 35. Willard and Sarah Bailey later divorced; he moved to Los Angeles with their daughter Frances, and died in 1954. Sarah died in 1976, age about 102. (See ''New York Times'' archives 1976, unknown date)

==Popular recordings==
*In 1902, the first recording, sung and played by [[Arthur Collins (singer)|Arthur Collins]] on piano <ref>{{cite web|title=Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3seUny2pB8/|via=[[YouTube]]| date=16 February 2013 |access-date=May 30, 2023}}</ref>
*In 1953, the song featured in the film ''[[Meet Me at the Fair]]'', directed by [[Douglas Sirk]], where it was sung by [[Jo Ann Greer]] who dubbed the singing voice of actress [[Carole Mathews]].
*In 1960, [[Bobby Darin]] recorded the song, where it went to No. 19 on the [[Billboard Hot 100]],<ref>{{cite book |title=  Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=2013 |publisher=Record Research |page=216}}</ref> No. 13 in [[CHUM Chart|Canada]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chumtribute.com/60-07-04-chart.jpg| title=CHUM Hit Parade - July 4, 1960|format=JPG|website=Chumtribute.com}}</ref> and No. 34 on the [[UK singles chart]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Bobby Darin|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/6337/bobby-darin/|website=Officialcharts.com|access-date=December 14, 2021}}</ref>
*In 1966, the [[Tokyo Happy Coats]] performed the song live on the [[Ed Sullivan Show]].<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFkO52hSH9A |title=Tokyo Happy Coats "Bye Bye Blues & Bill Bailey" on The Ed Sullivan Show |date=2024-03-23 |last=The Ed Sullivan Show |access-date=2025-06-08 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

==Parodies==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2025}}
* [[Allan Sherman]] recorded a parody of this song on his 1963 album ''[[My Son, the Celebrity]],'' titled "Won't You Come Home [[Benjamin Disraeli|Disraeli]]?"
* In the "Miss Solar System" episode of ''[[The Jetsons]]'', first aired February 3, 1963, Jane belts out "Won't You Fly Home Bill Spacely" in [[Hanna-Barbera]]'s parody of the song. Hanna-Barbera (with [[Cartoon Network Studios]]) makes more frequent use of the song throughout its series ''[[Johnny Bravo]]''.
*In ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Whacking Day]]", [[Grampa Simpson]] is seen posing as a female cabaret singer in Nazi Germany, singing a version of this song – with "Franz Brauder" replacing "Bill Bailey" – to [[Adolf Hitler]].
*The 1980 [[Smurfs]] album ''Smurfing Sing Song'' includes a version of this song titled "Smurf Baby", in which the chorus is repeated with the name "Bill Bailey" replaced with "Smurf Baby".
* [[Sandler & Young]] recorded a 20-minute medley where Bill Bailey is adapted to various styles, including the [[Nashville sound]], [[Italian opera]], [[Bach]], and Israeli music (with Jewish jokes).
* [[The Capitol Steps]] performed a version referring to the [[Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2000|2000 Democratic Presidential Primary]] titled "Won't You Go Home [[Bill Bradley]]".
* In [[P.G. Wodehouse]]'s 1906 novel ''[[Love Among the Chickens]]'', the narrator feeling sorry for himself blames his problems on his historical version of womanhood: "Oh woman, woman! At the bottom of everything! History is full of tragedies caused by the lethal sex. Who lost Mark Antony the world? A woman. Who let Samson in so atrociously? Woman again. Why did Bill Bailey leave home? Once more, because of a woman."
* In the 1960s, there was an elementary school play titled ''Go Home Bill Bailey''. It was a comedy about a tour guide(?) bringing tourists to the jungle.

==See also==
*[[List of pre-1920 jazz standards]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikisource|Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?}}
* http://www.perfessorbill.com/lyrics/lybailey.htm (lyrics)
* http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/sheetmusic/n/n09/n0971/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608154604/http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/sheetmusic/n/n09/n0971/ |date=2011-06-08 }} (traditional arrangement from "Historic American Sheet Music")

{{Al Hirt}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey}}
[[Category:1902 songs]]
[[Category:1900s jazz standards]]
[[Category:Blackface minstrel songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Hughie Cannon]]
[[Category:Al Hirt songs]]
[[Category:Little Willie John songs]]
[[Category:Dixieland jazz standards]]
[[Category:Songs about marriage]]