The melody that many recognize today as “Merrily We Roll Along” was originally used for a different song titled “Goodnight, Ladies” and was composed as a minstrel song by Edwin Pearce Christy of Christy’s Minstrels in the mid-19th century.
This melody later became famous in children’s music when it was adapted with new lyrics for the song “Merrily We Roll Along,” which is now well-known as a simple round song for children and also as the theme music for Warner Bros’ Merrie Melodies cartoons.
The version associated with minstrelsy, however, featured lyrics and contexts typical of the minstrel show era, often reflecting the racial and social attitudes of the time, unlike the innocuous lyrics associated with the children’s version of “Merrily We Roll Along.”
The verse of the original song was “Goodnight, ladies! Goodnight, ladies! Goodnight, ladies! We’re going to leave you now”.
Printable Lyrics PDF
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Lyrics
Merrily we roll along
Roll along, roll along
Merrily we roll along
O’er the deep blue sea
Karaoke Video with Lyrics
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