Goodnight Irene

E97650

"Goodnight Irene" is a traditional American folk song popularized by Lead Belly and later widely known through the Weavers' 1950 hit recording, becoming a standard of the mid-20th-century folk revival.

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Observed surface forms (2)


Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf American folk song
song
sound recording
sound recording
traditional song
alsoKnownAs Good Night, Irene NERFINISHED
Irene Goodnight NERFINISHED
associatedPerformer Lead Belly NERFINISHED
associatedWith 1950s popular music
folk revival
becameStandardIn mid-20th-century folk revival
chartSuccessWith The Weavers 1950 recording of Goodnight Irene NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
genre folk
hasChorus Irene, goodnight, Irene, goodnight, goodnight, Irene, goodnight, Irene, I’ll see you in my dreams
hasCulturalImpact became widely known standard in the United States
recorded by numerous artists
hasForm strophic form
hasLyricCharacter Irene NERFINISHED
hasLyricNarrator first-person male narrator
hasMelodicStyle simple folk melody
hasMeter 3/4 time
hasPerformancePractice often performed with guitar accompaniment
often sung as sing-along song
hasRefrain Irene, goodnight
hasSubject despair
dreams
romantic relationship difficulties
hasTitleCharacter Irene NERFINISHED
hasVersion Lead Belly recordings of Goodnight Irene
The Weavers 1950 recording of Goodnight Irene NERFINISHED
influenced mid-20th-century folk music repertoire
language English
notableRecording The Weavers 1950 recording of Goodnight Irene
partOf American folk song canon
performer Lead Belly NERFINISHED
The Weavers NERFINISHED
popularizedBy Lead Belly NERFINISHED
The Weavers NERFINISHED
publicationDate 1950
1950
recordedBy Lead Belly NERFINISHED
The Weavers NERFINISHED
theme heartbreak
longing
love
usedIn American folk music tradition

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

American folk music revival notableWork Goodnight Irene