I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls

"I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls", or "The Gipsy Girl's Dream", is a popular aria from The Bohemian Girl, an 1843 opera by Michael William Balfe, with lyrics by Alfred Bunn. It is sung in the opera by the character Arline, who is in love with Thaddeus, a Polish nobleman and political exile.

In popular culture
The song was popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, and has been recorded many times by musicians. It has also been parodied.


 * Lewis Carroll's parody of the lyrics was published in Lays of Mystery, Imagination and Humour in 1855: I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls, And each damp thing that creeps and crawls went wobble-wobble on the walls...
 * The opera is featured in two short stories published in James Joyce’s 1914 work Dubliners: "Clay" and "Eveline".
 * The 1941 Glenn Miller song "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem" is an allusion to the song.
 * An ambient, ethereal cover version was recorded by The Irish singer Enya for her Grammy-winning 1991 third studio album, Shepherd Moons, released in 1994 as the fourth single for the album; this version was featured on the soundtrack of the 1993 Martin Scorsese film The Age of Innocence.