Mabel Mercer (3 February 1900 – 20 April 1984) was an English-born cabaret … Read Full Bio ↴Mabel Mercer (3 February 1900 – 20 April 1984) was an English-born cabaret singer who performed in the United States, Britain, and Europe with the greats in jazz and cabaret. She was a featured performer at Chez Bricktop in Paris, owned by the legendary hostess Bricktop, and performed in such clubs as Le Ruban Bleu, Tony's, the RSVP, the Carlyle, the St. Regis Hotel, and eventually her own room, the Byline Club. Among those who frequently attended Mercer's shows was Frank Sinatra, who made no secret of his emulating her phrasing and story-telling techniques.

Mercer was born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. Her mother was a young, white English music hall performer, and her father was a black American jazz musician whom Mabel never knew. At age fourteen, she left her convent school in Manchester, and toured Britain and Europe with her aunt in vaudeville and music hall engagements.

In 1928, she was an unknown member of the black chorus in the London production of Show Boat, but she had become the toast of Paris by the 1930s, with admirers who included Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Cole Porter.

When World War II broke out, she traveled to America to sing in the finest supper clubs in New York City. She also made many concert appearances across the U.S. In the late 1960s, she gave two legendary concerts with Bobby Short at Town Hall in New York City. Both were released by Atlantic Records: Mabel Mercer & Bobby Short at Town Hall, in 1968, (Atlantic SD 2-604) and Mabel Mercer & Bobby Short Second Town Hall Concert, in 1969 (Atlantic SD 2-605). In 1969, she made two appearances on the television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

Her original and reissued albums are collector's items. Atlantic Records reissued four of her early LPs in a boxed set in 1975, in honor of her 75th birthday. She was awarded Stereo Review Magazine's first Award for Merit, for her lifetime achievement and for "outstanding contributions to the quality of American musical life." This award was officially renamed the Mabel Mercer Award in 1984.

A photograph of Mercer in later life, from the archives of The Mabel Mercer Foundation.

When Mercer returned on 4 July 1977 for her first performance in England in 41 years, the BBC filmed three evenings' performances and later broadcast it in a week-long late-night television program, a BBC first for an entertainer.

In 1978, "Midnight at Mabel Mercer's," her 1956 album on Atlantic, was praised as "one of the best recordings of the past twenty years" by Stereo Review. That same year, Mercer played at San Francisco's Club Mocambo to sold-out audiences, in celebration of her 78th birthday.

Hello Young Lovers
Mabel Mercer Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When I think of Tom
I think about a night
When the earth smelled of summer
And the sky was streaked with white
And the soft mist of England
was sleeping on a hill

I remember this

And I always will
There are new lovers now
on the same silent hill
Looking on the same blue sea
And I know Tom and I
are a part of them all
And they're all a part of Tom and me

Hello Young lovers whoever you are
I hope your troubles are few
All my good wishes go with you tonight
I've been in love like you

Be brave, young lovers, and follow your star
Be brave and faithful and true
Cling very close to each other tonight
I've been in love like you

I know how it feels to have wings on your heels
And to fly down a street in a trance
You fly down a street on a chance that you'll meet
And you meet not really by chance

Don't cry young lovers whatever you do
Don't cry because I'm alone
All of my memories happy tonight
I've had a love of my own

I've had a love of my own like yours
I've had a love of my own

Overall Meaning

The song "Hello Young Lovers" by Mabel Mercer is a poignant tribute to a past love. The singer reflects on a summer night spent with Tom, where the earth smelled of summer and the sky was streaked with white. The soft mist of England was sleeping on a hill, and the singer recalls this memory fondly. There are now new lovers on the same silent hill, looking out at the same blue sea. And even though Tom and the singer are no longer together, they are a part of these new lovers, just as these new lovers are a part of them.

In the chorus, the singer offers words of encouragement and advice to the young lovers out there. She hopes their troubles are few and sends them all her good wishes. She also urges them to be brave, faithful, and true, and to cling closely to each other. She knows how it feels to have wings on your heels and to fly down a street in a trance, hoping to meet someone special. And even though the singer is now alone, she tells the young lovers not to cry because all of her memories are happy tonight. She's had a love of her own, just like theirs.

Overall, "Hello Young Lovers" is a bittersweet ballad about love and loss, and the enduring nature of memories and connections. It's a comforting message for anyone who has loved and lost, and a reminder that the power of love and connection endures over time.

Line by Line Meaning

When I think of Tom
When my mind brings up images of Tom

I think about a night
I remember a specific night

When the earth smelled of summer
When the air was warm and fragrant

And the sky was streaked with white
And the clouds were white against the blue sky

And the soft mist of England
And the gentle fog of England

was sleeping on a hill
spread across a hill

I remember this
This memory is vivid in my mind

And I always will
And it will always be with me

There are new lovers now
There are fresh lovers at present

on the same silent hill
On the same quiet hillside

Looking on the same blue sea
Gazing upon the same blue ocean

And I know Tom and I
And I understand that Tom and I

are a part of them all
Are connected to all of them

And they're all a part of Tom and me
And all of them are connected to Tom and me

Hello Young lovers whoever you are
Greetings, young lovers no matter who you are

I hope your troubles are few
I wish for you to have minimal problems

All my good wishes go with you tonight
I am sending my well-wishes with you tonight

I've been in love like you
I have experienced being in love, just like you

Be brave, young lovers, and follow your star
Be courageous and pursue your dreams, young lovers

Be brave and faithful and true
Be courageous, loyal, and honest

Cling very close to each other tonight
Hold on to each other tightly tonight

I've been in love like you
I have felt the same emotions of being in love

I know how it feels to have wings on your heels
I understand the feeling of euphoria when in love

And to fly down a street in a trance
And to move down a street in a hypnotic state

You fly down a street on a chance that you'll meet
Travel down a street with the hope of meeting someone special

And you meet not really by chance
And although it seems like it's by chance, in reality, it was meant to happen

Don't cry young lovers whatever you do
Don't weep, young lovers, no matter what happens

Don't cry because I'm alone
Don't weep because I am by myself

All of my memories happy tonight
All of my recollections are pleasant tonight

I've had a love of my own
I have experienced a love similar to yours

I've had a love of my own like yours
My love was similar to yours

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Peermusic Publishing, IMAGEM MUSIC INC
Written by: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II, RICHARD RODGERS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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