Mr. Sandman

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For the video-game character, see Mr. Sandman (Punch-Out!!).
"Mr. Sandman"
Mr. Sandman record by The Chordettes
Single by The Chordettes
A-side "Mr. Sandman'"
B-side '"I Don't Wanna See You Cryin'"
Released October 1954
Format 45rpm 7-inch vinyl single
Recorded 1954
Genre Traditional pop
Length 2:22
Label Cadence
Writer(s) Pat Ballard ("Mr. Sandman"); Stock-West ("I Don't Wanna See You Cryin'")
Producer(s) Archie Bleyer
The Chordettes singles chronology
"Mr. Sandman"
"The Wedding"

"Mr. Sandman" (sometimes rendered as "Mister Sandman") is a popular song written by Pat Ballard which was published in 1954 and first recorded in May of that year by Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra and later that same year by The Chordettes. The song's lyrics convey a request to "Mr. Sandman" to "bring me a dream" – the traditional association with the folkloric figure, the sandman. The pronoun used to refer to the desired dream is often changed depending on the sex of the singer or group performing the song.[citation needed] Some time later, Ballard also rewrote the lyrics for Christmas use as "Mr. Santa". The chord progression in each chorus follows the circle of fifths for six chords in a row. Singer Dorothy Collins charted with "Mr. Santa" (#51, US trade Music Vendor. 1955). The song was later recorded by Tony Sandler and Ralph Young (1968) and Suzy Bogguss.

Recorded versions[edit]

The Chordettes' recording of the song was released on the Cadence Records label, whose founder, Archie Bleyer, is credited on the disc's label as "knees played by" and orchestra conductor. Bleyer's voice is heard in the third verse, when he says the word, "Yes?" The piano is played by Moe Wechsler. Liberace's name is mentioned for his "wavy hair" and Pagliacci, for having a lonely heart (a reference to the opera Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo).


There are numerous other recorded versions of the song[1] including versions by Chet Atkins, Mocedades, Blue Diamonds, Marvin Gaye, Gob, Jose Melis, The Chipmunks, The Supremes, The Andrews Sisters, Pomplamoose, The Puppini Sisters, Blind Guardian, Linda McCartney, Al Hirt, the Orlons, The Osmond Brothers The Fleetwoods, and Jose Melis.

Joe Loss and his Orchestra recorded it in London on November 1, 1954. The tune was released by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number BD 6184. Vaughn Monroe with Orchestra recorded it in 1954 which was released as a single on RCA Victor label as catalog number 47-5767.

A modified version for children was recorded on Golden Records by Anne Lloyd (with "the Sandpipers and Orchestra", referring to the group also known as the "Golden Sandpipers"). The revised lyrics included "... bring me a dream/ And wrap it up in a pretty moonbeam/ I'd love to dream that I really can do/ The things that Santa Claus and Peter Pan do" and "...bring me a dream / Bring me a dream that's sweeter than peaches and cream./ Give me a pumpkin (punkin) coach like poor Cinderella/ A pretty satin dress all green and yellow (yella)".

It has featured in a number of TV and film soundtracks including The Simpsons,[2] Futurama, Grease 2 (sung by the movie's "Peptones" contestants from a male-to-female viewpoint), Back to the Future, Breaking Bad, Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag, Mr. Nobody, Nip/Tuck, Groundhog Day, Philadelphia, Planet 51, Uncle Buck, I Saw What You Did, Cry-Baby, Halloween II, Halloween: H20 and the Family Ties episode entitled "Band on the Run." A version by the band Oranger also featured as an intro song and later on a cutscene in the video game Stubbs the Zombie - Rebel without a Pulse and can also be heard in the 2010 video game Mafia II. It is also used in a Kia Optima commercial when The Sandman gives the owner a dream about the vehicle while the song plays as background music. In the Philippines, a version of the song with slightly altered lyrics was used in a TV advertisement promoting McDonald's Big N' Tasty and in the UK, a pastiche version was used in 2014 by the payday lender, Wonga, with words promoting their product. It was also in an episode of the television series Grimm named after the song.

The "Mr. Santa" version has been recorded by Shari Lewis (on the 1965 Musicor single MU 1140), Lenny Dee, Amy Grant, and Suzy Bogguss, among others.

"Mr. Sandman" was also famously sung as a lullaby on The Golden Girls in the season five episode "Not Another Monday" when Dorothy, Rose, and Blanche are trying to help a newborn, Francis Lilistrand, fall asleep.

Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) can be seen singing a piano-accompanied version with his mother, Norma Bates (Vera Farmiga) on piano in the second episode in season two of Bates Motel.

Bette Midler recorded the song for her 2014 album It's the Girls!.

Emmylou Harris version[edit]

"Mister Sandman"
Single by Emmylou Harris
from the album Profile II: The Best of Emmylou Harris
Released 1981
Recorded 1980
Genre Country
Length 2:20
Label Warner Bros.
Producer(s) Brian Ahern
Emmylou Harris singles chronology
"The Boxer"
"Mister Sandman"
"I Don't Have to Crawl"

In the late 1970s, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt recorded a version of the song for a planned trio album which was ultimately scrapped. (The three would eventually reunite and record the first of two Trio albums nearly a decade later in 1987). Harris included the trio recording of "Mr. Sandman" the song on her 1981 album Evangeline, though with the stipulation that it not be released as a single (given that Parton and Ronstadt both were affiliated with other record labels). However, when Harris later changed her mind and wanted to put the song out as a single, she rerecorded it, singing all three parts herself, and releasing it in 1981, under the title "Mister Sandman". Harris's single version did not appear on an album until the 1984 compilation Profile II: The Best of Emmylou Harris.

Chart performance[edit]

Chart (1981) Peak
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 37
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 10
Canadian RPM Top Singles 42
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1
Dutch Top 40 9
New Zealand Singles Chart 16

Blind Guardian version[edit]

"Mr. Sandman"
Single by Blind Guardian
from the album The Forgotten Tales
Released February 7, 1996
Recorded Sweet Silence Studios
Genre Power metal
Length 2:12
Label Virgin
Producer(s) Flemming Rasmussen
Blind Guardian singles chronology
"Bright Eyes"
"Mr. Sandman"
"Mirror Mirror"

In 1996, German power metal band Blind Guardian released a single with a cover version of "Mr. Sandman.",[3] While the song starts in a similar mood to the original, it becomes increasingly aggressive, introducing heavy metal guitars in the second verse and a double bass drum in the third.

Track listing[edit]

  1. "Mr. Sandman" – 2:12
  2. "Bright Eyes" (Edited Version) – 4:04
  3. "Hallelujah" – 3:18
  4. "Imaginations from the Other Side" (Demo Version) – 7:14
  5. "The Script for My Requiem" (Demo Version) – 7:01


Preceded by
"A Headache Tomorrow (Or a Heartache Tonight)"
by Mickey Gilley[4]
RPM Country Tracks
number-one single
(Emmylou Harris version)

May 16[5]-May 23, 1981[6]
Succeeded by
"Am I Losing You"
by Ronnie Milsap[7]


External links[edit]