1913
Having now seen the excellent Stan and Ollie for the second time, I'm in a Laurel and Hardy frame of mind, which brings me to this old chestnut identified closely with the boys thanks to the unforgettable performance of it in their 1937 classic Way Out West. By that point, however, the tune was already an oldie, having been inspired by the 1908 novel of the same name. The favorite song of poet Gertrude Stein, it was first recorded by Albert Campbell and Henry Burr. Thanks to an upsurge in Laurel and Hardy popularity in Britain during the 1970s, Stan and Ollie's version rocketed all the way to the #2 position on the UK singles chart in 1975.
Lyrics:
On a mountain in Virginia stands a lonesome pine
Just below is the cabin home of a little girl of mine
Her name is June and very, very soon she'll belong to me
For I know she's waiting there for me neath that lone pine tree.
In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia
On the trail of the lonesome pine
In the pale moonshine our hearts entwine
Where you carved your name and I carved mine.
Oh, June - like the mountains, I'm blue
Like the pine - I am lonesome for you
In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia
On the trail of the lonesome pine.
Just below is the cabin home of a little girl of mine
Her name is June and very, very soon she'll belong to me
For I know she's waiting there for me neath that lone pine tree.
In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia
On the trail of the lonesome pine
In the pale moonshine our hearts entwine
Where you carved your name and I carved mine.
Oh, June - like the mountains, I'm blue
Like the pine - I am lonesome for you
In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia
On the trail of the lonesome pine.
Recorded By:
Edna Brown and James F. Harrison
The Dinning Sisters
Rex Allen
The Diamonds
