Song Clearance Sheet
2 sources citedSweet Adeline
Barbershop1900sPictured: Original sheet music (public domain) · source
UnconfirmedBPM
B♭ majKey
More in B♭ major → · More “Public Domain” →
Key from published sheet music / hymnals
The verdict
Public Domain
In the public domain — but check the Rights Status below; a specific host's copy can carry its own caveat.
Used by independents?
Yes — it’s in the public domain — free for any independent artist to use, with no clearance needed.
Published & charted
Published 1903; a #1 hit for 10 weeks in 1904 (Haydn Quartet), per Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories chart research
The barbershop standard
Became the foundational barbershop-quartet standard; 'Sweet Adelines International' takes its name directly from the song
Rights Status
Licenses explained →Public domain is not one blanket badge — each source can carry its own caveat
The compositionPublic domain
The early recordingPublic domain
Cultural Impact
Documented covers, adaptations, and cultural echoes — each with a real, dated source
A U.S. president's grandfather's campaign song
John F. Fitzgerald — Boston mayor and JFK's maternal grandfather — adopted it as his personal theme song from 1909, performing it for four decades.
Wikipedia · read it →
A Fenway Park tradition predating 'Sweet Caroline'
A barbershop quartet reportedly performed it between innings at Fenway in its early years — likely the predecessor to "Sweet Caroline" as the Red Sox anthem. (Community source, not independently verified.)
Fluther (community) · read it →
Nearly a century of film and TV cameos
In Chaplin's 'Pay Day' (1922), a 1926 Fleischer sound cartoon, the Marx Brothers' 'Monkey Business' (1931), 'I Love Lucy' (1952), 'The Andy Griffith Show,' 'Victor/Victoria,' and DuckTales.
Wikipedia · read it →
Referenced by modern indie artists
Elliott Smith titled the opening track of his 1998 album XO 'Sweet Adeline'; Alt-J's 'Adeline' (2017) reimagines it as a love ballad from a shark's point of view.
Wikipedia · read it →
Can You Use It for Free?
How to check PD →Is it public domain?Yes — free to use without clearance
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Page history · 3 updates
Jul 2026Key added from published sheet music / hymnals (documented source)
Jul 2026BPM/Key fast-follow: tempo and key are interpretation-dependent across arrangements and performances — no canonical value, so both marked Unconfirmed rather than invented
Jul 2026Page created