You Are My Sunshine

The singer in this clip is Jimmy Wakely with the Sunshine Girls

Often considered a traditional folk tune, You Are My Sunshine actually carries a copyright from 1940 (Peer International). Authorship credits go to Jimmie Davis, a country singer-songwriter who would later become governor of Louisiana, and Charles Mitchell, though the song is said to have been written in 1933 by Oliver Hood of LaGrange, Georgia.

This simple catchy tune would be recorded by many, including Bing Crosby, Gene Autry, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin. It got a second wind in 2000 when it was featured in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?

You can play this song in Bluegrass, Old Time, Folk and Gospel circles. Expect three-part harmony.

RIGHT-CLICK TO DOWNLOAD LYRICS WITH CHORD CHART in A

Here’s one early memorable recording by Gene Autry:

The simplicity of Elizabeth Mitchell’s version brings it sweetly home:

Here’s the wild Ike and Tina Turner version:




You Are My Sunshine

Written by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell, 1939

Sing this chorus at the beginning, between each verse, and at the end:

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.
You make me happy when skies are gray
You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you
Please don’t take my sunshine away

1
The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
And I hung my head and cried

2
I’ll always love you and make you happy
If you will only say the same
But if you leave me to love another
You’ll regret it all someday

3
You told me once, dear, you really loved me
And no one else could come between
But now you’ve left me and love another
You have shattered all my dreams