home sweet home

An expression of pleasure or relief upon returning to one's home, especially after an extended period away from it. Ah, home sweet home! After two months in India, it sure is great to be back.

A sentimental or ironic view of home as a wonderful place. The term was the title of a song composed by Henry R. Bishop, with words by the American lyricist John Howard Payne, used in the opera Clari, or The Maid of Milan (1823). The song became virtually a sacred text for middle-class Victorians and achieved a fame far beyond that of the opera or its composer. The great soprano Adelina Patti used it as an audition piece, and the equally great Jenny Lind sang it in all her concerts all over the world from 1850 on. Its most famous performer, however, was the Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba, and audiences around the world would chant “Home! Sweet Home!” to bring her back for another encore. It is also the name of a song by Motley Crue.