Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was a country… Read Full Bio ↴Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was a country music singer.

Foley was born in Blue Lick, Kentucky. He began playing the guitar and the harmonica as a young boy and at age seventeen he won first prize in a statewide talent show. Ultimately he signed with Decca Records in 1941. His hit songs include Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy, Old Shep, Sugarfoot Rag, and Tennessee Saturday Night. Peace in the Valley, backed up by The Sunshine Boys, in 1951 became the first gospel record to sell a million copies, and One By One, a duet with Kitty Wells, became a chart topper in 1954.

For more than two decades, Foley was a major star of country music, selling in excess of twenty-five million records. During 1962-63, Foley was a regular cast member along with Fess Parker in the television series, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Red Foley was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1967. For his contribution to the music industry, Red Foley also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6225 Hollywood Blvd.

He died unexpectedly in 1968 in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the age of fifty-eight from a heart attack. He is interred in the Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.

His daughter from his second marriage to Judy Martin (nee: Eva Alaine Overstake) is Shirley Lee Foley who is married to singer Pat Boone. His granddaughter is singer Debby Boone.

Goodnight Irene
Red Foley Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Irene, goodnight,
Irene, goodnight,
Goodnight, Irene,
Goodnight, Irene,
I'll see you in my dreams

Last Saturday night I got married,
Me and my wife settle down,,

Now me and my wife are parted,
I'm gonna take another stroll in town

Irene, goodnight,
Irene, goodnight,
Goodnight, Irene,
Goodnight, Irene,
I'll see you in my dreams

Sometimes I live in the country,
Sometimes I live in town,

Sometimes I have a great notion,
To jump in the river and drown

Overall Meaning

Red Foley's song Goodnight Irene is a song about a man who is heartbroken after his marriage falls apart. The song starts by bidding farewell to a woman named Irene, who is likely a symbol of the man's lost love. He repeats her name multiple times, almost as if he is trying to hold onto her memory. He then says "I'll see you in my dreams" which could represent his hope that they will be reunited in the afterlife, as dreams are often associated with the subconscious and the afterlife.

The man then goes on to talk about his failed marriage. He says that he and his wife got married the previous Saturday, and "settled down." However, their happiness was short-lived, and they are now parted. He expresses his sadness about the end of the marriage by saying, "I'm gonna take another stroll in town." This phrase could be interpreted as him trying to find solace in the bustling streets of the city, or as a metaphor for his wandering state of mind.

In the final verse, the man describes how he sometimes thinks about ending his own life by jumping in a river, which is a stark contrast to the farewell he says to Irene at the beginning of the song. The lyrics seem to suggest a deep sense of longing and despair that the man is experiencing, and his struggle to come to terms with his own emotions.

Line by Line Meaning

Irene, goodnight,
Addressing Irene and bidding goodnight

Irene, goodnight,
Repeating the above line

Goodnight, Irene,
Parting message for Irene, wishing her goodnight

Goodnight, Irene,
Repeating the above line

I'll see you in my dreams
Expressing hope of meeting Irene in dreams

Last Saturday night I got married,
Narrating an incident from past when the singer got married last Saturday night

Me and my wife settle down,,
Describing how the singer and his wife got settled after marriage

Now me and my wife are parted,
Explaining how the singer and his wife have parted ways

I'm gonna take another stroll in town
Announcing the singer's intention of taking a stroll in the town

Irene, goodnight,
Addressing Irene and bidding goodnight

Irene, goodnight,
Repeating the above line