The Band Played On

"The Band Played On", also known (by its refrain) as "Casey Would Waltz with a Strawberry Blonde", is a song that was written in 1895 with lyrics by John F. Palmer and music by Charles B. Ward.

Unusually, as originally published the verses are in ²
₄ time, while the chorus is in ³
₄ (waltz) time. The chorus is much better known than the verses to later generations.

The lyrics of the refrain:

Casey would waltz with a strawberry blonde

And the band played on.

He'd glide 'cross the floor with the girl he adored

And the band played on.

But his brain was so loaded it nearly exploded;

The poor girl would shake with alarm.

He'd ne'er leave the girl with the strawberry curls

And the band played on.

The song became a pop standard with many recordings made. One of the first was by Dan W. Quinn for Berliner Gramophone in 1895, the same year the song was published.

The song was later featured in many films, including Raoul Walsh's The Strawberry Blonde (1941), the title of which was inspired by the lyrics, and Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951).