where does the saying "the life of reilly" come from?

Answer 1

"The Life of Riley" was a TV show that came on years ago. It was about a man named Riley who had it made. He sat around
a lot and just enjoyed his life.

To Nanlwart : That probably is the origin. The show is the only thing I ever knew about, But it was probably based on the same thing. In the show, Riley was always dreaming of becoming rich.

Answer 2

I thought it was a radio story or maybe early television. But the Web says different:
" [Q] From Jim Chapin: “What is the origin of the phrase, life of Riley (or Reilly)?”

[A] There are several explanations for this phrase, all of them centering on popular music.

William and Mary Morris point to a comic song written by the vaudevillian Pat Rooney in 1890 in which the hero of the song, a hotel-keeper named Reilly (or Riley), describes what he will do when he strikes it rich: New York “will swim in wine when the White House and Capitol are mine”. A version made famous by burlesque performers Ned Harrigan and Tony Hart has these lines in the chorus:

Well, if that's Mr. Riley
They speak of so highly.
Why, faith, Mr Riley,
You're looking quite well.

It was revived and updated in 1915 as a patriotic war song under the title Are you the O’Reilly? as an attempt to cash in on the success of It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary, and contained the chorus line “Gor blimme me, O’Reilly, you are looking well”.

H L Mencken suggested as an alternative possible source The Best in the House is None Too Good for Reilly, which was written by Lawlor and Black at about the same period as Pat Rooney’s song.

On this side of the Atlantic, it is firmly believed that the song is of Anglo-Irish origins, and that the popularity of the phrase dates from a music-hall song My Name is Kelly written by Pease in 1919, which has the line “Faith and my name is Kelly, Michael Kelly, But I’m living the life of Reilly just the same”. Pease is here using a phrase which he obviously expected his audience to recognize, but we have no earlier recorded use.

Eric Partridge also thought the phrase is British and that it was taken up in America only in the 1930s, which would make the various US songs irrelevant as sources. But we just don’t know the truth of the matter. The spelling of the name is as variable as that of the Irish surname itself, but Riley now seems to be preferred."

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All rights reserved. Contact the author for reproduction requests.

Answer 3

I am old, and my grandmas always said that saying. It meant that a person had an easy time, but I don't know whoim Reilly was. I looked on google.com and didn't find it.