Origin of Phrases - T
The Life Of Riley
Most people envy the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Stand-up comic Patrick Rooney exploited this feeling in a lilting song he wrote in the late 1880s. Mr. Reilly, the central character of the Irish entertainer's song, didn't amount to much, but he was quite a daydreamer. Reilly imagined what he would do if he struck it rich in California.
Owning the railroads, he would buy no tickets. Having no need for money he would turn down jobs that offered to pay "a hundred a day." Best of all, he would take over the White House and sleep in the president's chair. Though Reilly existed only in the imagination of Rooney, he voiced the feelings of multitudes who paid little attention to the spelling of his name. Having heard or read lines that described the way Reilly conceived of life at the top, people began to wish they could step into the Irishman's shoes.