Emile Ford was born in Castries, Saint Lucia, in the West Indies. He was the son of Barbadian politician, Frederick Edward Miller, and Madge Murray, a singer and musical theatre director whose father had founded and conducted the St. Lucia Philharmonic Band. His mother married again, taking the name of Sweetnam; some sources erroneously give Emile Ford's birth name as Sweetnam or Sweetman.
He was educated at St Mary’s College, Castries. He moved to London with his mother and family in the mid-1950s, partly motivated by his desire to explore improved sound reproduction technology, and studied at the Paddington Technical College in London. It was during this time that he taught himself to play a number of musical instruments, including guitar, piano, violin, bass guitar and drums. Using an abbreviated form of his name, as Emile Ford, he first entered show business at the age of 20, and made his first public performance at the Buttery, Kensington. His first appearance with a backing group was at the Athenaeum Ballroom in Muswell Hill. His TV appearances in 1958 included outings on The Music Shop, the Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson Show, Oh, Boy!, and Six-Five Special.
He teamed up in January 1959 with his half-brother, bassist George Sweetnam-Ford (born 1 January 1941), electric guitarist Ken Street (born 1943) and drummer John Cuffley to form Emile Ford & the Checkmates. The band appeared on the TV programme Sunday Serenade, which ran for six weeks. They won the Soho Fair talent contest in July 1959, but turned down a recording contract with EMI because the company would not allow Ford to produce their records, and instead agreed to a deal with Pye Records. Their first self-produced recording, "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?", a song originally recorded by Ada Jones and Billy Murray in 1917, went to number one in the UK Singles Chart at the end of 1959 and stayed there for six weeks. Ford was the first black British artist to sell one million copies of a single.
In January 1960, Ford signed a two-year employment management contract with Leslie Grade. He had several more hits in the UK, and also scored a number one EP in 1960. The readers of the British music magazine New Musical Express voted Emile Ford and the Checkmates as the "Best New Act" in 1960. Ford's debut album was made up of covers. He made several albums, but his last studio recordings were in 1963. His half-brothers George and Dave Sweetnam-Ford were later members of the Ferris Wheel.
As a sound engineer, Ford was responsible for creating a backing track system for stage shows, first used in 1960, which provided a basis for what became known as karaoke. In 1969, he set up a recording studio in Barbados with the help of his father, before moving to Sweden. While there, he further developed a new open-air playback system for stage shows, patented as the Liveoteque Sound Frequency Feedback Injection System.
Counting Teardrops, an anthology including all of Ford's recordings with Pye Records, was released in 2001.
Emile Ford died in London on 11 April 2016.
Red Sails in the Sunset
Emile Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, carry my loved one home safely to me
{She sailed at the dawning, all day I've been blue}
Red sails in the sunset, I'm trusting in you
Swift wings you must borrow
Make straight for the shore
We marry tomorrow
{Red sails in the sunset, way out on the sea}
Oh, carry my loved one home safely to me
Swift wings you must borrow
Make straight for the shore
We marry tomorrow
And she goes sailing no more
{Red sails in the sunset}
Way out on the sea (ooh-wee-ooh, wee-ooh)
Oh, carry my loved one
{Home safely to me}
{bracketed words are sung by Nat in unison with background singers}
(words in parentheses are sung by background singers only)
The lyrics to Emile Ford's song "Red Sails in the Sunset" talks about a man whose loved one has sailed away and he is waiting for their return. He sees red sails in the sunset and hopes that they will bring his loved one back safely to him. The man is sad and has been feeling blue all day while longing for his loved one's return. He trusts these red sails to bring her back to him.
The chorus repeats twice, with the man asking the red sails to carry his loved one safely back to him. He talks about borrowing swift wings to make it to the shore and marry his loved one the next day before she sails away again. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus and the man's hope that the red sails will bring his loved one back to him.
The lyrics of "Red Sails in the Sunset" speaks to the longing of the heart and the desire for the return of a loved one. The man hopes that the red sails will bring his loved one home safely to him, showing how much he cares for her. The repetition of the chorus highlights the man's hope that the sails will bring his loved one safely back to him, emphasizing how strongly he feels towards her.
Line by Line Meaning
Red sails in the sunset, way out on the sea
The sight of red sails on the horizon is the last hope that the singer has for their loved one's safe return from a long sea voyage.
Oh, carry my loved one home safely to me
The singer begs the red sails to bring their beloved safely back to them, having waited anxiously and longingly for their return.
She sailed at the dawning, all day I've been blue
The singer has been distressed all day, having seen their loved one embark early in the morning and worrying about their voyage all day long.
Red sails in the sunset, I'm trusting in you
The artist puts their faith in the red sails to bring their loved one back to them, hoping that those sails will be the sign of a successful and safe journey.
Swift wings you must borrow
The artist implores whatever elemental or divine power drives the winds to come to the aid of the red sails, to give them enough force to reach the shore safely.
Make straight for the shore
The singer orders the red sails to head directly towards the land, without delay or deviation.
We marry tomorrow
The singer reminds the red sails of the future joy and happiness they will bring, as the singer and their beloved are set to be married soon.
And she goes sailing no more
The artist hopes that their loved one will return safely and be with them on land from now on, never having to go on a dangerous sea voyage again.
Way out on the sea (ooh-wee-ooh, wee-ooh)
The background singers emphasize the distance and uncertainty of the sea, with the sound of waves and the vocalizations signaling the vastness and unknown dangers of the water.
Oh, carry my loved one
The artist repeats their plea to the red sails to bring their beloved back to them safely, with a heightened sense of urgency and desperation.
Home safely to me
The singer's ultimate goal and longing is for their loved one's safe return to their embrace, after a long and trying separation.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Wilhelm Grosz, Jimmy Kennedy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@danielrigby645
what a great song even now
@alanwalker2850
another new song !! never heard it before................... it's great
@owenmartin3307
classic ! classic !
@alecjefferson6993
Still tap your feet brilliant feel like dancing 💃 and music 🎶
@nerdiep3456
Lovely when I cruise around in my Chevy.