Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

• In the 1999 film "I'll Take You There" starring Ally Sheedy and Adrienne Shelly the film opens with the song. A sultry rendition is first sung by a soon to be awol wife. It then plays in the opening credits. It is also later sung by Sheedy's character's grandmother as she plays the tune on the piano and makes some comical, philosophical commentary about the lyrics.

• In The Jetsons season 1 episode "Miss Solar System", Jane Jetson sings an adaptation entitled "Won't You Fly Home, Bill Spacely?" during the beauty pageant.

• In The Flintstones season 2 episode "The Happy Household", Wilma Flintstone sings a few lines of the song during her audition for The Happy Housewife Show.

• On the Canadian Brass' 1987 album Basin Street, the band is accompanied by actor and banjo player George Segal, who both plays and sings lyrics from the song on the track "Strummin' With George".

• In an episode of the British panel game QI, themed around cockney rhyming slang, Bill Bailey's buzzer which, when pressed, played Patsy Cline's version of the song. He responded sarcastically, "No-one's ever pointed that out before!"
  • Bill Bailey's (born Mark Bailey), music teacher, Ian Phipps, gave him the nickname "Bill" in reference to this song for his ability to play it on guitar

• In an episode of the radio series I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, Tim Brooke-Taylor sang the song, with Bailey replying to each line.

• The song figures prominently in the movie "Papa's Delicate Condition" where it is not only sung several times and used as background music, but also played by a circus calliope. The general theme of the song is also echoed in the plot of the movie.

• In a continuing tradition at shows predominantly in the Carolinas Phish has performed "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home" six times, each time with Page McConnell's father, Dr. Jack McConnell on vocals and featuring a tap-dancing number.

• In the 1982 fantasy film The Last Unicorn, a butterfly sings "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" to the Unicorn.

• In The West Wing season 4 episode "Election Night", Sam Seaborn sings the song under his breath on his way to accept a phone call from Will Bailey.

• In Drop Dead Diva season 1 episode "The Dress", Jane Bingum sings the song in a dream sequence for Judge Paula Abdul, stating later that it was a song she used to sing at camp.

• The song is played as a male/female duet by street performers in the opening scene of Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 film The Conversation.

• The song is played at the beginning of the Rugrats episode, "Music".

• A woman sings part of the song during an interview for a babysitting position in the movie Corrina Corrina.

• In the 1979 film Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Buck sings the song while he returns to Earth.

• An escaped purple gorilla sings part of the song whilst walking down a street in the first episode of Johnny Bravo.
• In the last episode of Gilligan's Island, Ginger and Mary Ann sing this in hopes of distracting a native.

• An SNL skit starring Kristen Wiig and Jon Hamm entitled "1920s Party" has the main character playing this song on the piano as a feature in the skit.