Hit the Road to Dreamland

By Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer
1942

If ever there was a movie intended to warm the hearts of Americans shocked by the onset of war, it was The Star-Spangled Rhythm, and if ever there was a song intended to do that as well, it was this one, the centerpiece of the picture. Sung in the film by Dick Powell and Mary Martin, it's a classic example of both Arlen's mastery of jazz rhythms and Mercer's expert feel for colloquial language.

Lyrics:

Bye, bye baby,
Time to hit the road to dreamland.
You're my baby--
Dig you in the Land of Nod.

Hold tight, baby,
We'll be swinging up in dreamland.
All night baby,
Where the little cherubs trod.

Look at that knocked-out moon.
You been a-blowing his top in the blue--
Never saw the likes of you,
What an angel!

Bye, bye baby,
Time to hit the road to dreamland.
Don't cry, baby,
It was divine,
But the rooster has finally crowed--
Time to hit the road.

Recorded By:

Dean Martin
Dr. John
Jane Monheit
Betty Hutton
Perry Como