On a tour … Read Full Bio ↴Ruby Murray was born in Belfast on the 29th of March 1935.
On a tour of Northern Ireland as a child singer in variety shows, she was spotted by producer Richard Afton who encouraged her to go for a career in show business and she made her TV debut at the age of 12 despite the laws regarding child performers although her work was severely restricted until she was 14. Joining Tommy Morgan's touring revue, she was offered a regular spot as a singer on the BBC show Quite Contrary as a replacement for Joan Regan.
Signing a recording deal with Columbia, her first hit single was the ballad Heartbeat which hit the top 10 at the end of 1954 and was quickly followed by her first and only number one Softly Softly. It was during the early months of 1955 as Columbia released further Ruby Murray songs, that she found herself dominating the charts as Happy Days And Lonely Nights, Let Me Go lover and If Anyone Finds This I Love You joined Heartbeat and Softly Softly in the charts giving her five simultaneous entries on that week in March, all of them eventually peaking inside the top 10. Two further hits followed in 1955, Evermore and I'll Come When You Call but at the end of 1955, the tide of Rock n Roll could be held back no more and singers like Ruby Murray, sweet and innocent and belonging to a fast disappearing world were swept aside.
During the mid 1950s she expanded her activities, starring in her own TV show, appearing at The London Palladium in the show Painting The Town with Norman Wisdom and she even had one film role in A Touch Of The Sun with Frankie Howerd and Dennis Price. While appearing in a summer season at Blackpool, she met and married Bernie Burgess, a member of the vocal group The Jones Boys. A couple of minor hits followed, Real Love and Goodbye Jimmy Goodbye which was her final appearance in the charts almost at the end of the decade. Her marriage did not last and she remarried Ray Lemar settling in Torquay, Devon. A wave of nostalgia has kept her name in the public consciousness for over half a century, reflecting on a bygone age when singers were clear and every word was pronounced beautifully. EMI put together a compilation of her hits on CD in their EMI years series in 1989 including songs that regularly featured in her act, standards such as Mr Wonderful, Scarlet Ribbons and It's The Irish In Me and updated this with the release of EMI Presents The Magic Of Ruby Murray in 1997 and a triple CD, Anthology The Golden Anniversary Collection in 2005, the 50th anniversary of her peak successes on the charts. A play by Marie Jones about her life, called Ruby opened in Belfast in 2000. Ruby Murray remained active in cabaret and nostalgia shows until her death on the 17th December 1996 from liver cancer after a period of illness. (from allmusic.com)
Softly Softly
Ruby Murray Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Touch my lips so tenderly
Softly, softly turn the key
And open up my heart
Handle me with gentleness
And say you'll leave me never
In the warmth of your caress
My love will live for ever and ever
So softly, softly come to me
Touch my lips so tenderly
Softly, softly turn the key
And open up my heart
Softly, softly turn the key
And open up my heart
Ruby Murray's song "Softly Softly" is a gentle love song that talks about romantic love and the need for tenderness and gentleness. The song's lyrics describe the singer's desire for a lover to approach them with gentleness and tenderness. The singer sings the plea, "Softly, softly come to me, touch my lips so tenderly...". The singer is asking for their lover to handle them with a gentle hand and to promise to never leave them. The lyrics convey a sense of vulnerability and surrender, as the singer is opening their heart to love.
The song's chorus repeats the line, "Softly, softly turn the key and open up my heart". This line serves as a metaphor for the singer's heart being locked and the lover being the only one who has the power to unlock it with gentle care. The lyrics are also punctuated by the singer's desire for their love to be eternal, as expressed through the line, "In the warmth of your caress, my love will live for ever and ever".
Line by Line Meaning
Softly, softly come to me
Approach me with care and caution
Touch my lips so tenderly
Handle me with delicacy, softness and sensitivity
Softly, softly turn the key
Unlock my heart carefully and lovingly
And open up my heart
Reveal the most intimate part of me with trust and affection
Handle me with gentleness
Treat me with kindness and grace
And say you'll leave me never
Promise to always be there for me
In the warmth of your caress
In the comfort and affection of your touch
My love will live for ever and ever
My affection for you will endure eternally
Softly, softly turn the key
Gently and tentatively open my heart
And open up my heart
Reveal the most intimate and special part of me to you with vulnerability and trust
Lyrics © Kanjian Music
Written by: MARK PAUL, PADDY ROBERTS, PIERRE DUDAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind