Beautiful Dreamer

"Beautiful Dreamer" by Currier and Ives

The song has been recorded by Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter & his Orchestra (March 22, 1940);[5] The Nutmegs; Steve Conway with Jack Byfield & his Orchestra; Thomas Hampson with Jay Ungar (mandolin), David Alpher (piano), and Molly Mason (guitar); John Leyton (with revised lyrics by Ken Lewis and John Carter); Jerry Lee Lewis;[6] Slim Whitman; and Roy Orbison on the album In Dreams (a top ten Australian single in 1964). The documentary Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile is named after the song, and in the documentary Brian Wilson quips that the first letters of the words "Beautiful Dreamer, Wake" compare with his own initials, Brian Douglas Wilson. The song is also featured on Marty Robbins' posthumous album Long, Long Ago (1984) and on Ray Price's posthumous farewell album Beauty Is... Ray Price, The Final Sessions (2014).

Jim Reeves recorded a version while on tour in South Africa in 1962, sung in Afrikaans under the title "Bolandse Nooientjie". (A brief translation is fraught; "lass of the hinterland" is one possibility). Although Reeves could not speak Afrikaans, this was remedied by South African composer and songwriter Gilbert Gibson, who stood behind Reeves and whispered the words of the song to him, who would then sing the same words into the microphone.

Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album On the Sentimental Side (1962).

Gerry Goffin and Jack Keller wrote a doo-wop version for Tony Orlando[7] which took considerable liberties with the original; the opening quatrain, for instance is "Beautiful Dreamer/Wake unto me/Can't you see me, baby/I'm on my bended knee." Orlando released this version as a single in 1962[8][9] and it quickly became a regular part of the Beatles' set list, from 1962 through the Beatles Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour in early 1963.[10] A recording of a 1963 Beatles performance of the song on the BBC was released in 2013 on their album On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2. Rory Storm and The Hurricanes also featured the song in their live performances.[11] This version has been recorded by Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas.

Bobby Darin recorded a bluesy version of the song with all-new lyrics, but the song was unreleased until 1999 (on the album Bobby Darin: The Unreleased Capitol Sides). No attribution is given for the new lyrics; one possibility is that Darin might have written these himself. These lyrics tell about a lonely woman who dreams of a love of her own, and a lonely man who dreams of love too. The reference to a queen is retained in Darin's version, asking if the woman is a "queen without a throne".

The song Was In An American Tail In the cats Underground hideout played on the piano.

The song was central to the plot of the film Mighty Joe Young, as it is used throughout the film to calm the title character, a large gorilla.[12]

In the 1952 biopic of Stephen Foster entitled I Dream of Jeanie, there is a scene where Stephen Foster, played by Bill Shirley, sings this song as a serenade to one of his two love interests in the film.

In the climax of the cult pageant film Drop Dead Gorgeous, a rendition of the song by Mandy Barnett can be heard over the chaos of beauty queens destroying a building.

In The Little Rascals Save The Day when Alfalfa sing the song in the last day of school.

The song is used in the 2018 movie "Winchester" with Helen Mirren.

The song is used as a theme song in the 2020 Netflix movie Lost Girls.

The song was used in Far Cry's New Dawn video game, where Prosperity girl sings this song.[13]

The song is pivotal to E. B. White's 1970 novel The Trumpet of the Swan. Louis the trumpeter swan learns the tune during his long journey to find his voice via a stolen trumpet and a chalk slate. In a climactic scene, he belts out its poetry on his trumpet at dawn, declaring his love in the Philadelphia Zoo to the beautiful swan Serena, the object of his long unrequited love. White also includes the public domain sheet music in the novel, perhaps to encourage similarly dramatic loving gestures.

• the song was sung by Hale Appleman as Eliot Waugh in Season 4, Episode 10 of The Magicians.
• The song was sung by Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles over the credits of the SpongeBob SquarePants episode Truth or Square.
• the song was in an episode of Gunsmoke in which Kitty meets her father, approximately 1957. Episode was called “Daddy-O” season 2 episode 36.
• It was played by a female pianist in a saloon at Little Joe's request in the 1966 "Credit for a Kill" episode of "Bonanza."
• Weasel from The Animals of Farthing Wood (TV series) sings the first part of this song to wake up Adder.
• The song was played on the harmonica and the piano many times by Jon Walmsley as Jason Walton on the 1970s television show The Waltons.
• Toby Noe (Ray Bolger) played and sang the song in the Little House on the Prairie episode Dance with me from season 5 episode 17 in order to court a woman
• Colonel Paul Foster (Michael Billington) sings the song in the closing moments of the UFO episode, 'Ordeal' after recovering from a hallucination caused by passing out in the sauna whilst hungover at SHADO's Research Centre/health farm.
• The song was performed by Drake Bell and Alec Medlock during the credits of the Drake and Josh episode Eric Punches Drake.
• In "The Talent Show" from the 2003 The Berenstain Bears, Brother Bear discovers Too-Tall Bear singing this song and recruits him as his "showstopper" for the school talent show.
• In an episode of Rugrats, Didi sings this song to Dil as a lullaby.
• In an episode of Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, the Library Monster sings this song as Beautiful Screamer.
• In an episode of "The Care Bears" Grams tells a story of a broadway star who gives a young washer woman the confidence to go on-stage and perform in a show.