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Whispering Grass
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Whispering Grass /
Friends Island WIP 6176 (single, UK, 1973) |
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Whispering Grass /
Until the Real Thing Comes Along Island (single, p/s, UK, 1973) |
[words Fred Fisher, music Doris Fisher]
Sandy Denny recorded Whispering Grass, the old Ink Spots hit of 1940, with Diz Disley, guitar, Ian Armit, piano, Danny Thompson, bass, Dave Mattacks, drums, and Bob Leaper, horn arrangements, for her album Like an Old Fashioned Waltz. She commented in the liner notes to the Japanese issue of the LP:
When I was young, my parents used to possess many of the old Ink Spots recordings, and this is one of my very favourites of these. I always promised myself that one day I would record it. So here it is!
This song was also released as a single with the B-side Until the Real Thing Comes Along, and was later included in the Who Knows Where the Time Goes box set.
A live studio recording from 14 November 1973 for the BBC Radio 1 show “Sounds of the Seventies”, hosted by Bob Harris, was broadcast on 17 December 1973. In this session Sandy was backed by Hughie Burns, guitar, Pat Donaldson, bass, and Willie Murray, drums. This recording was first published in 1994 on the fan club cassette The Attic Tracks Vol. 4: Together Again and later included in the 1997 CD The BBC Sessions 1971-73, in 2004 on the 5CD Fledg’ling Sandy Denny anthology A Boxful of Treasures, and in 2007 on the 3CD+DVD box set Live at the BBC.
Heidi Talbot sang Whispering Grass on her 2008 album In Love + Light.
Lyrics
Why do you whisper, green grass,
Why tell the trees what ain’t so?
Whispering grass,
The trees don’t have to know.
Why tell them all your secrets,
Who kissed there long ago?
Whispering grass,
The trees don’t need to know.
Don’t you tell it to the breeze,
’Cos she will tell the birds and bees,
And everyone will know
Because you told them once before.
Yes you told them once before,
It’s no secret anymore.
Why tell them all the old things,
They’re buried under the snow.
Whispering grass, don’t tell the trees,
’Cos the trees don’t need to know.
Now don’t you tell it to the breeze
’Cos she will tell the birds and bees,
And everyone will know
Because you told them once before.
Yes you told them once before,
It’s no secret anymore.
Why tell them all the old things,
They’re buried under the snow.
Whispering grass, don’t tell the trees,
’Cos the trees don’t need to know.