Bill Bailey, Please Come Home (Hughie Cannon / Reimagined)

[Intro – instrumental] [Verse 1] [Lead: warm female alto, playful country twang, slightly smoky edge; conversational storytelling over a relaxed swing.] Bill Bailey, won't you please come home? You've been gone so long, I've been talking to the phone The porch is getting lonely, the moon is getting cold And every night the neighbors got another tale to tell [Lead: slightly more animated; amused disbelief in the delivery.] They say they saw you down by the river They say you caught a train out west But every story changes And nobody knows the rest [Chorus] [Lead: fuller, bright swing delivery; playful and soulful. Light harmony on final phrases.] Bill Bailey, won't you please come home? Bill Bailey, you've been gone too long There's a light out on the porch And a fiddle playing low Bill Bailey, won't you please come home? [Instrumental Break] [Fiddle: playful melodic lead, laughing quality, short slides and blues notes.] [Lead: soft spoken interjections between fiddle phrases.] [Verse 2] [Lead: more animated storytelling; teasing humor and growing exasperation.] You told me you'd be coming back Before the rooster crowed Well, three Sundays came and went And the garden's overgrown The neighbors keep on talking Like they know where you have been But if they're telling half the truth You better not come home again [Lead: brief pause before the final line; deliver it with a mischievous grin.] [Rap / Spoken Bridge] [Spoken-rap: loose swing cadence, playful Southern storytelling; rhythmic but never aggressive.] Bill Bailey, man, where'd you wander off? Creek's still running and the porch is still hot Moon's hanging low and the dog knows your track Whole town's got a story, but nobody's got facts [Brief pause] You said you'd be back when the summer rolled through Summer packed its bags and the winter came too So if you're out there somewhere, better follow that road 'Cause somebody's waiting with a bill for what you owe [Chorus] [Lead: bright, energetic, slightly exaggerated country phrasing.] Bill Bailey, won't you please come home? Bill Bailey, you've been gone too long There's a light out on the porch And a fiddle playing low Bill Bailey, won't you please come home? [Final Chorus] [Lead: fullest vocal; playful call-and-response with restrained backing harmony.] Bill Bailey, won't you please come home? [Harmony: come on home.] Bill Bailey, you've been gone too long [Harmony: too long.] The whole town's telling stories And we're all singing along Bill Bailey, won't you please come home? [Outro] [Lead: relaxed, half-sung/half-spoken; warm smile in the voice.] Bill Bailey... You better bring your boots... [Soft fiddle answer] And don't forget the rent... [Band gives a playful final swing figure.] Won't you please come home?