"Grace Darling" is a song by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

band

Strawbs The Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock. They are best known for their hi ...

, featured on their 1975 album ''Ghosts''.

Recording

The track was recorded in the chapel of the

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

, which the members of the band

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

had attended in the 1960s, and which Strawbs' producer at the time,

Tom Allom Thomas James Allom is an English record producer and sound engineer. His best-known work was in the 1970s and 1980s, working with artists such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Krokus (band), Krokus, Loverboy, Def Leppard, KIX (band), Kix and Rou ...

, had also attended. According to

Dave Cousins Dave Cousins (born David Joseph Hindson; 7 January 1945) is an English musician who has been the leader, singer and most-active songwriter of Strawbs, since 1967. Cousins is a founding member of Strawbs, which started out as the Strawberry H ...

, the chapel's pipe organ was used, played by Alastair Ross, choirmaster and organist of St Lawrence's Church, West Wycombe; the band's keyboardist,

John Hawken John Christopher Hawken (9 May 1940 – 15 May 2024) was an English keyboard player, best known as a member of The Nashville Teens, Renaissance, and the Strawbs. He also played in Spooky Tooth, Third World War, Vinegar Joe and Illusion, as ...

, chose not play on the recording, as he was not used to the very noticeable delay that falls between the pressing of a key on a pipe organ and the sounding of the corresponding note.''Ghosts'' CD booklet, A&M 540 937-2 (1998) During recording, Cousins became ill and, after hospitalisation for a lumbar puncture, was obliged to record while lying down on the floor of the studio.

Lyrical and musical content

The title derives from the refrain "You are my saving grace/Darling, I love you," which references the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

heroine

Grace Darling Grace Horsley Darling (also known as "Amazing Grace"; 24 November 1815 – 20 October 1842) was an English lighthouse keeper's daughter. Her participation in the rescue of survivors from the shipwrecked ''Forfarshire'' in 1838 brought her nat ...

. The lyrics contain references to storms, lifeboats and other nautical-related items. The song compares the singer's paramour to the famous lighthouse keeper's daughter, expressing gratitude that she is steadfast and has helped him through dark times with her constant love. The song has a three-verse structure with a middle section between verses two and three. An instrumental section is heard at the beginning and end and also preceding the middle section. The predominant instruments are the

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

and the choir, giving the song a classical or hymnal feel. The song was re-recorded in 1975 with a set of French lyrics and entitled "Chérie, Je T'aime" for release in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, to appeal to Strawbs'

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

audience. The sleeve notes to the 1998 CD re-issue of ''Ghosts'' report that a promotional video was recorded for the single featuring an interview with Cousins on a lifeboat. Originally thought to have been lost, the film reappeared on the 2003 ''Strawbs Live In Tokyo/Grave New World'' DVD.

B-side

The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

track "Changes Arrange Us" is a

Rod Coombes Rodney Coombes (born 15 May 1946) is an English musician. He was mostly known from playing drums with British bands Stealers Wheel in 1972 to 1973 and again in 2008 and Strawbs from 1974 to 1977 and again from 2004 to 2010. Career Rod is an ...

composition, which does not feature on the album. The record label shows the title incorrectly as "Changes Arranges" The B-side of the 1975 French Canadian release is "Heroine's Theme", the first part of the song "Autumn" from the album ''

Hero and Heroine ''Hero and Heroine'' is the seventh studio album by England, English band Strawbs. Background After the tour supporting the previous album, ''Bursting at the Seams'' (1973), there was an acrimonious split leaving only Dave Cousins and Dave Lam ...

'', composed by keyboard player John Hawken.

Release history

Other recordings

The track was rearranged and recorded by a different line-up of the band for the album ''

Ringing Down the Years Ringing may mean: Vibrations * Ringing (signal), unwanted oscillation of a signal, leading to ringing artifacts * Vibration of a harmonic oscillator ** Bell ringing * Ringing (telephony), the sound of a telephone bell * Ringing (medicine), a ringi ...

''. Dave Cousins and

Brian Willoughby Brian Willoughby (born 20 September 1949) is a British guitarist. He has worked with many musicians, notably Dave Cousins and The Strawbs, Mary Hopkin, as well as releasing solo work. Discography (UK releases unless stated otherwise) Albums ...

also recorded it for their album ''

Old School Songs ''Old School Songs'' is a studio album by singer-songwriter Dave Cousins of the band Strawbs and guitarist Brian Willoughby. It was released in 1979 on Old School Records. Track listing All tracks written by Dave Cousins. #"Grace Darling" #"I' ...

''.

Personnel

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

* Dave Lambert –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

Chas Cronk Chas Cronk is an English musician, best known as the bass player and acoustic guitarist for the Strawbs from 1973 to 1980 and again from 2004 to 2023. Chas also toured and recorded with Steve Hackett and Rick Wakeman in the 1980s and Cry No Mo ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

with *Alastair Ross –

Godalming Godalming ( ) is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settl ...

, Surrey – choir

References

External links

"Grace Darling" at StrawbswebLyrics to "Grace Darling" at Strawbsweb official siteLyrics to "Changes Arrange Us" at Strawbsweb official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grace Darling 1974 singles Strawbs songs 1974 songs Songs written by Dave Cousins A&M Records singles