Born over a fish and chip shop owned by her grandmother in Molesworth Street, Rochdale, Lancashire, she made her first stage appearance as a child in 1905. Her two sisters, Edith and Betty, and brother, Tommy, all went on to appear on stage, but Gracie was the most successful. Her professional debut in variety took place at the Rochdale Hippodrome theatre in 1910 and she soon gave up her job in the local cotton mill.
She met comedian Archie Pitt and they began working together. Pitt would come to serve as her manager and the two married in 1923. Their first revue in 1915 was called Yes I think so and the two continued to tour Britain together until 1922 in the revue Mr Tower of London.
Her most famous song, which became her theme, "Sally," was worked into the title of her first cinema film, Sally in Our Alley (1931), which was a major box office hit. She went on to make several films initially in Britain and later in the United States (for which she was paid a record fee of US$200,000 for four films), despite never performing without a live audience.
Ironically, the final few lines of the song 'Sally' were written by her husband's mistress, and Gracie sang this song at nearly every performance she made from 1931 onwards.
Now Is the Hour
Gracie Fields Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For me to say goodbye
Soon I'll be sailing
Far across the sea
While I'm away
Oh please remember me
When I return
I'll find you waiting here
Now is the hour
For me to say goodbye
Soon I'll be sailing
Far across the sea
While I'm away
Oh please remember me
When I return
I'll find you waiting here
While I'm away
Oh please remember me
When I return
I'll find you waiting here...
The lyrics to Gracie Fields's song "Now Is the Hour" are a poignant expression of parting, longing, and hope. The singer acknowledges that it is time for her to say goodbye and sail across the sea, but pleads with her loved ones to remember her while she is away. She promises to return, and finds comfort in the thought that her loved ones will be waiting for her when she does.
The repetition of the chorus underscores the sense of separation and distance, while the singer's plea to be remembered indicates a fear of being forgotten or lost. The promise of reunion, however, provides a glimmer of hope and a sense of purpose to the singer's journey. The song thus captures the bittersweet emotions of leaving behind the familiar and embarking on a new adventure, tempered by the strength of love and loyalty.
Line by Line Meaning
Now is the hour
This is the time for me to bid farewell
For me to say goodbye
It's time to say my farewell
Soon I'll be sailing
In a short while, I'll be setting off on a sea voyage
Far across the sea
To a distant place in the ocean
While I'm away
During my absence
Oh please remember me
I implore you to keep me in your thoughts
When I return
At the point when I come back
I'll find you waiting here
I expect to see you eagerly waiting for me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHRISTOPHER GENTRY, JOHN HUTCHINSON DEAN, MATTHEW EVERITT, SIMON IAN WHITE, STUART BLACK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
djaw 96
Now is the hour
For me to say goodbye
Soon I'll be sailing
Far across the sea
While I'm away
Oh please remember me
When I return
I'll find you waiting here
Now is the hour
For me to say goodbye
Soon I'll be sailing
Far across the sea
While I'm away
Oh please remember me
When I return
I'll find you waiting here
While I'm away
Oh please remember me
When I return
I'll find you waiting here...
SugarTomAppleRoger
This is a New Zealand folk song. Gracie Fields first heard it when visiting NZ in WW2.
scott kuzminski
I loved this song..never heard this sweet lament till now..I can only imagine how many people this song "meant the world to" many years back. Thank God we can still hear some of the old "chesnuts"
Kirk Barkley
this was Gracie's most beautiful recording!
murraypg
A truly beautiful voice.
Larry Orr
Another solid hummer from Gracie. This one rose to #4 on the pop charts in the winter of '48, beating out recordings of the same song by Eddie Howard, Charlie Spivak, and other heavy hitters.
gf1001
I too love this version by Gracie, the original and the best.
Poohbear
my Mom always whistled and sang this beautiful song she sang it as a 4 year old child in 1947 when she had pneumonia and was being taken to hospital by ambulance apparently she had a
my Grandparents in tears as she sang 'please remember me...' xxx
Kirk Barkley
When i was a boy, my folks had this on a LONDON HIT PARADE record and i always pictured her as a sweet 2O year-old "girl": she was 49 here: amaZing!
Brian A. Eachus
This record was No. 1 when I was born
Mamma Kaye Lee
I read from some of the older comments that this was originally a Maori song called 'Po Atarau'. Of course I found it on Yt. So far the best version IMO is from Hayley Westenra. Of course there are other versions and some apparently performed by New Zealanders. Don't you just love the things you can learn from Yt?