Baby, Won't You Please Come Home?

By Charles Warfield & Clarence Williams
1919

This blues and jazz classic was not officially introduced until 1922, when it was first recorded by Eva Taylor wife of co-composer Williams. Ironically, Warfield would later dispute Williams' authorship, claiming to have written the song alone. It would be made a smash hit in 1923 by the Empress of the Blues herself, Bessie Smith. Truly evocative of an era.

Lyrics:

I've got the blues, I feel so lonely
I'll give the world if I could only
Make you understand
It surely would be grand
I'm gonna telephone my baby
Ask him won't you please come home
'Cause when you're gone, I'm worried all day long

Baby won't you please come home
Baby won't you please come home
I have tried in vain
Ever more to call your name

When you left you broke my heart
That will never make us part
Every hour in the day
You will hear me say
Baby won't you please come home?

Baby won't you please come home
Baby won't you please come home
Cause your mama's all alone
I have tried in vain
Never more to call your name

When you left you broke my heart
That will never make us part
Landlord gettin' worse, I've got to move May the first
Baby won't you please come home, I need money
Baby won't you please come home?

Recorded By:

Django Reinhardt
Louis Armstrong
Lionel Hampton
Sidney Bechet
Ray Charles

Baby, Won't You Please Come Home?

By Clarence Williams & Charles Warfield
1919

It's believed that pianist Warfield was in actuality this song's sole composer, and Williams--as song publishers sometimes did--took partial credit in exchange for promoting the song. Although written in 1919, the earliest recorded version, to my knowledge, is the 1922 version by Williams' wife Eva Taylor. Bessie Smith, "Empress of the Blues", would make a hit of it the following year. It has since become a signature tune of the Roaring '20s.

Lyrics:

I've got the blues, I feel so lonely.
I'll give the world if I could only
Make you understand
It surely would be grand.
I'm gonna telephone my baby,
Ask him won't you please come home,
'Cause when you're gone, I'm worried all day long.

Baby, won't you please come home?
Baby, won't you please come home?
I have tried in vain
Nevermore to call your name.

When you left you broke my heart,
That will never make us part.
Every hour in the day,
You will hear me say,
Baby won't you please come home.

Recorded By:

The Mills Brothers
Wynton Marsalis
Stan Kenton
Frank Sinatra
Ray Charles