A Cottage for Sale
Song by The Revelers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"A Cottage for Sale" is a popular song, with music by Willard Robison and lyrics by Larry Conley.[1] It was published in 1929,[2] and has been recorded over 100 times;[3] the first ones to be released were by The Revelers in January 1930 and by Bernie Cummins with the New Yorker Orchestra in March 1930.[4]
Lyrics and themes
The song uses an empty cottage as a metaphor of a failed relationship or the end of a long relationship perhaps in death.
- Our little dream castle
- With every dream gone
- Is lonely and silent
- The shades are all drawn
- And my heart is heavy
- As I gaze upon
- A cottage for sale
- The lawn we were proud of
- Is waving in hay
- Our beautiful garden has
- Withered away.
- Where we planted roses
- The weeds seem to say...
- A cottage for sale
- Through every window
- I see your face
- But when I reach (the) window
- There's (only) empty space
- The key's in the mailbox
- The same as before
- But no one is waiting for me anymore
- The end of our story
- Is there on the door
- A cottage for sale.[5]
Recordings
The song has become a standard, with artists from a variety of genres creating many notable recordings. A partial list follows:
- 1930: Victor vocal quartet The Revelers
- 1930: Ruth Etting
- 1930: Grey Gull Studio Dance Band with vocalist Jack Parker (Piccadilly 616 / 3990-B)
- 1930: Guy Lombardo
- 1945: Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra went to number three on the Most-Played Juke Box Race Records chart and number eight on the pop chart.[6]
- 1947: Mel Torme
- 1956: Dinah Washington (Dinah! album)
- 1957: Nat King Cole (Just One of Those Things album)
- 1957: Coleman Hawkins with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Glenn Osser (The Gilded Hawk album)
- 1958: Tony Bennett with Frank De Vol and his Orchestra (Long Ago and Far Away album)
- 1958: Frankie Laine
- 1959: Frank Sinatra (No One Cares album)
- 1959: Roy Hamilton (Have Blues Must Travel album)
- 1959: Chris Connor (Nina Simone and Her Friends album)
- 1960: Little Willie John (Sure Things album)
- 1960: Billy Eckstine (Once More with Feeling album)
- 1961: Howard McGhee (Dusty Blue album)
- 1963: Julie London (Love on the Rocks album Liberty Records LST 7249)
- 1963: Judy Garland
- 1965: Jack Teagarden (Think Well Of Me Verve Records V6 8465 album)
- 1968: Kay Starr and Count Basie (How About This album)
- 1968: James Brown (Thinking About Little Willie John and a Few Nice Things album)
- 1969: Bette McLaurin (The Masquerade Is Over album)
- 1978: Bill Farrell (Lush Life album)
- 1987: Chuck Berry sings the song, accompanied Johnnie Johnson on piano, in an intimate moment during rehearsal in his concert film Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
- 1992: Buddy Montgomery (Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Fifteen album)
- 1995: Etta Jones (At Last album)
- 1996: Jackie McLean (Hat Trick album)
- 2001: Dave Van Ronk (Sweet & Lowdown album)
- 2003: Jerry Jeff Walker (Jerry Jeff Jazz album)
- 2003: Holly Cole (Shade album)
- 2005: Les Deux Love Orchestra (King Kong album, featuring Bobby Woods on vocals and Page Cavanaugh on piano)
- 2005: Johnny Mathis (Isn't It Romantic: The Standards Album)[7]
- 2010: Freddy Cole (Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B album)
- 2017: The Newfangled Four (The Newfangled Four album)
- 2021: Willie Nelson (That's Life album, Nelson's second tribute album to Frank Sinatra[8])
Other performances, date unknown: