Just received your letter and I want to say
It has recalled the day when we first met dear
Now I’m feeling better and I promise true
I will return to you
So don’t forget dear
When William H. Heagney released the song In Montauk Dear With You in 1928, Montauk was in a period of rapid growth and expansion. The hype surrounding the promised “Miami Beach of the North” waltzed its way into popular music.
“Dance orchestras and vocalists in all parts of the country are playing and singing the newest Long Island song, written around the unsurpassed natural beauties of Montauk where there is in development one of America’s finest summer colonies by the sea,” wrote the Long Island Railroad Information Bulletin.
When the roses are in bloom
I’ll take a long walk in Montauk with you
Underneath the skies of June
I’ll have a long talk in Montauk with you
There we’ll find love’s paradise and linger where the skies forever are blue
And while the pale moon gleams
I’ll live my golden dreams
Down in Montauk dear with you
Heagney (1882-1955) was an American songwriter, author, pianist, vocalist, and conductor. He started as a vaudeville performer. In the 1920s when vaudeville started to decline, he became a songwriter and radio performer. He later worked for various publishing companies before co-founding the Fred K. Steele publishing company in 1926.
Could the buzz of the destination’s development have added to the song’s popularity? Did the romantic foxtrot ballad act as an advertisement for Montauk tourism?
Like many advertisements of the time promoting Montauk and Long Island tourism, the sheet music cover features the Montauk Point Lighthouse. Did Heagney travel to Montauk by train or automobile? Did he use a map similar to the one above to navigate to the sun-kissed shores mentioned in the song?
When the day is ending and the sun goes down
Here in a lonesome town
My thoughts are straying
I can hear your message from that sun-kissed shore
Calling me back once more
That’s why I’m saying
The sheet music included an arrangement for the ukulele by May Singhi Breen. Breen (1891-1970) was an American composer, arranger, and ukulelist, known as “The Original Ukulele Lady.” Breen is credited with convincing music publishers of the commercial value of ukulele arrangements and the inclusion of ukulele chords on popular sheet music. In 2000, Breen became the first woman inducted into the Ukulele Hall of Fame.
At the time of the song’s release, Breen and Peter DeRose hosted a radio show called “Sweethearts of the Air.” On the show, Breen performed on the ukulele, and DeRose accompanied her on the piano. The show ran for 16 years.
When the roses are in bloom
I’ll take a long walk in Montauk with you
Underneath the skies of June
I’ll have a long talk in Montauk with you
There we’ll find love’s paradise and linger where the skies forever are blue
And while the pale moon gleams
I’ll live my golden dreams
Down in Montauk dear with you
Care to play along? The sheet music is now available on Internet Archive.
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