Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis

"Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis", better known as just "Meet Me in St. Louis", is a popular song from 1904 which celebrated the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World's Fair. The words were by Andrew B. Sterling; the music, by Kerry Mills. The song was published in 1904 in New York by Mills's firm operating under the name F. A. Mills. It was recorded that year by many artists, including William F. Denny,[1] Billy Murray and Arthur Collins.

"Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis"
Cover, sheet music, 1904
Song
LanguageEnglish
Published1904
Composer(s)Kerry Mills
Lyricist(s)Andrew B. Sterling

The song and the fair were focal points of the Judy Garland movie, Meet Me in St. Louis. Garland recorded the song in 1944.[2] Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album Join Bing and Sing Along (1959)

Overview

"Louis" in the song is pronounced "LOO-ee", akin to the French. The song is one of the few instances of pronouncing the city's name that way. It is normally pronounced "LOO-is".

The song, which is generally styled in the form of a limerick, has many and varied verses, few of which are remembered today — unlike the chorus. In the original sheet music, the chorus is the same for the first two verses but varies in verses three through six, which are essentially jokes with the punch line in the chorus.

The song was also featured in the film The Strawberry Blonde with James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland, some four years prior to Meet Me in St. Louis.

The chorus was sung by Jimmy and Jerry Gourd in the VeggieTales episode "Are You My Neighbor?"

The song is played at the home games of the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues.

Larry Groce released a version on Disney Children's Favorite Songs 4.

References
  1. Gracyk, Tim and Hoffman, Frank W. (2000). Popular American recording pioneers, 1895-1925. Psychology Press, Binghamton, NY. ISBN 978-1-56024-993-1.
  2. "Meet Me in St. Louis". International Movie Database. IMDb. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
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