Gave us "Peg 'O My Heart" and “Brown Eyes, Why Are You Blue?”
Lyricist Alfred Bryan was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada on September 15, 1871. His early education was in parochial schools and in the late 1880’s he moved to New York City where he developed his talent for songwriting.
Bryan worked as a staff arranger for several New York publishing firms and was a charter member of ASCAP in 1914. He collaborated on several Broadway scores including The Shubert Gaieties of 1919, The Midnight Rounders of 1920 and 1921, The Century Revue and A Night in Spain.
In the 1920’s Bryan moved to Hollywood and wrote songs for film scores as well.
Collaborating with composers like Fred Fisher, Al Piantadosi, George Meyer, Larry Stock, Alfred Gumble, Joe McCarthy and John Klenner, the Bryan catalog includes the hit songs “I Want to be Good but My Eyes Won’t Let Me”, “Peg O’ My Heart”, “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to be a Soldier”, “I’m On My Way to Mandalay”, “Who Paid the Rent for Mrs. Rip Van Winkle?”, “The High Cost of Loving”, “Joan Of Arc”, “Lorraine”, “Oui, Oui, Marie”, “Come Josephine In My Flying Machine”, “Puddin’ Head Jones”, “Down in the Old Cherry Orchard”, “Brown Eyes, Why Are You Blue?”, “The Irish Were Egyptians Long Ago”, “Hooray for Baffins Bay”, “Daddy, You’ve Been A Mother To Me”, “Madelon”, “Blue River”, “My Mother’s Eyes”, “Red Lips, Kiss My Blues Away”, “Winter”, “I Want you to Want Me to Want You”, “Dream Serenade”, “Rainbow”, “Beautiful Annabelle Lee”, “Wear a Hat with a Silver Lining”, “Cleopatra”, “When the Bees are in the Hive”, “Are You Sincere?”, “When the Harbor Lights are Burning”, “Green Fields and Bluebirds”, “Japansy”, “I Was So Young”, “Be Sweet to Me, Cherie”, “In a Little Dutch Kindergarten”, “Down the Colorado Trail”, “A Cradle in Bethlehem” and “When You Add Religion to Love”.
Alfred Bryan died in Gladstone, New Jersey on April 1, 1958.
Leading Tin Pan Alley lyricist and arranger in 1920s and 30s on Broadway and Hollywood.
