MOONLIGHT BAY – Music by Percy Wenrich, Lyrics by Edward Madden, (c) 1912
This is a very popular American song, almost a standard. Often referred to as “On Moonlight Bay”. This song was a hit in the 1942 film called Ship Ahoy starring Red Skelton and Eleanor Powell. In a musical/dance number at the end of the movie, Frank Sinatra sang a verse for the song, although the version generally heard on recordings is the Chorus only, repeated 3 times.
Sinatra’s lyrics:
Voices hum, crooning over Moonlight Bay
Banjos strum, tuning while the moonbeams play
All alone, unknown they find me
Memories like these remind me
Of the girl I left behind me
Down on Moonlight Bay
The song was one of a number of early-20th-century songs which were used as titles of musical films made by Doris Day in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. (Watching the Doris Day film, On Moonlight Bay, on the tcm website is a real treat when you see a scene where a ukulele is played!) The song was also a big hit in 1951 for Bing Crosby and son Gary Crosby.
Chorus:
[N.C.]We were sailing a-[C]long, on [F//] Moon-light [C] Bay.
We could hear the voices [G7] ring-ing, they seemed to [C] say,
“You have stolen my [C] heart,
Now [F//] don’t go [C] ‘way.”
As we [Dm] sang “Love’s Old Sweet [G7] Song,” on Moonlight [C//] Bay [F// C/]
–
[N.C.] We were sailing a-[C]long (we were sailing along….)
on [F//] Moon-light [C] Bay (on Moonlight Bay….)
We could hear the voices [G7] ring-ing,
they seemed to [C] say (seemed to say…)
[N.C.] “You have stolen my [C] heart (you have stolen my heart….)
Now [F//] don’t go [C] ‘way…..” (don’t go way…)
As we [Dm] sang “Love’s Old Sweet [G7] Song,” on Moonlight [C//] Bay [F//] [C/]
–
[N.C.] We were sailing a-[C]long (we were sailing along….)
on [F//] Moon-light [C] Bay (on Moonlight Bay….)
We could hear the voices [G7] ring-ing,
they seemed to [C] say (seemed to say…)
[N.C.] “You have stolen my [C] heart (you have stolen my heart….)
Now [F//] don’t go [C] ‘way…..” (don’t go way…)
As we [Dm] sang “Love’s Old Sweet [G7] Song,” on Moonlight [C//] Bay [F//] [C///]
Ending:
As we [Dm] sang “Love’s Old Sweet [G7] Song,” on Moonlight [C //] Bay [F//] [C /]
Check out these video sources:
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/355644/On-Moonlight-Bay-Original-Trailer-.html
Cat's Ukulele Songs 