"Buffalo Gals" is a
traditional American song, written and published as "Lubly Fan" in 1844 by the
blackface minstrel
John Hodges, who performed as "Cool White". The song was widely popular throughout the United States, where minstrels often altered the lyrics to suit local audiences, performing it as "New York Gals" in
New York City, "Boston Gals" in
Boston, or "Alabama Girls" in
Alabama, as in the version recorded by
Alan Lomax and
Shirley Collins on a 1959
field recording trip. The best-known version is named after
Buffalo, New York.[1][2]
The lyrics are a reference to the many "dancing girls" who performed in the bars,
concert-hall dives, and
brothels of the Buffalo, New York,
Canal district, which at that time was the western terminus of the
Erie Canal and the site where canal and
freightercrewmen received their wages.[1]
Adaptations
The English
singing game "Pray, Pretty Miss" may have been an inspiration for the lyric, according to Frank Brown in "Collection of North Carolina Folklore". The tune is reminiscent of "Im Grunewald, im Grunewald ist Holzauktion", a
music hall song from Germany that was however first published in 1892.
A 1959 adaptation by
Bobby Darin called "Plain Jane" went to number 38 on the Billboard chart.[5]
A 1960 hit by
Ray Smith, "Rockin' Little Angel" is based on the same melody.[6]
A 1961 album by
The Olympics, Dance by the Light of the Moon includes the title song which borrows part of the melody and lyrics, reworking it into a
doo-wop song.[citation needed]
In popular culture
The line "They danced by the light of the moon" shows up a little more than a quarter century later in Edward Lear's poem, "The Owl and the Pussycat", published in 1870.[7]
^Willian, Michael (2006).
"George Calls on Mary". The Essential It's a Wonderful Life: A Scene-by-Scene Guide to the Classic Film. Chicago Review Press. pp. 43–45.
ISBN9781569764282. Retrieved 2016-10-08.