It has a straightforward verse–chorus form, but is in waltz time. Huddie William Ledbetter (1888-1949), better known as Lead BellyĪs part of the Federal Art Project that began in 1935, the song was published in 1936, in Lomax's version, as 'Goodnight, Irene', a joint Ledbetter-Lomax composition. The first version recorded in 1933 had two verses and two choruses, the second version from 1934 had four verses and four refrains, while the third version from 1936 had six verses and six refrains, including an extended spoken part. These recordings for the Library of Congress included three takes of 'Irene'. John Lomax recorded a version of Huddie Ledbetter's song 'Irene' in 1933, on a prison visit to Angola ( Louisiana State Penitentiary). Ledbetter eventually extended the song to six verses.

Family members of Huddie Ledbetter indicate that he may have sung the song as early as 1908 as a lulluby to his niece, Irene Campbell. Another uncle of Ledbetter, Bob Ledbetter, who also recorded a nearly identical version of the song, said that he also learned the song from Terrill. According to Ledbetter, he first heard the core of the song, the refrain, and a couple of verses from his Uncle Terrill. There is also a degree of resemblance in the music despite some differences, such as their time signatures, to indicate that the two songs are related. The lyrics of the song have some similarities to 'Goodnight, Irene' to suggest that Huddie Ledbetter's song was based on Davis' lyrics. In 1886, Gussie Lord Davis published a song called 'Irene, Goodnight'.

Several verses refer explicitly to suicidal fantasies, most famously in the line 'sometimes I take a great notion to jump in the river and drown,' which was the inspiration for the title of the 1964 Ken Kesey novel Sometimes a Great Notion and a song of the same name from John Mellencamp's 1989 album, Big Daddy, itself strongly informed by traditional American folk music. The lyrics tell of the singer's troubled past with his love, Irene, and express his sadness and frustration. A version recorded by the Weavers was a #1 hit in 1950.

' Goodnight, Irene' or ' Irene, Goodnight,' is a 20th-century American folk standard, written in 3Ĥ time, first recorded by American blues musician Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter in 1933. Sheet music for 'Goodnight, Irene' by the Weavers

Goodnight june