Whispering Hope

DESCRIPTION: "Soft as the voice of an angel... Hope with a gentle persuasion, Whispers her comforting word." "Hope for the sunshine tomorrow After the shower is gone." "Whispering hope, how welcome thy voice, Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice."
AUTHOR: "Alice Hawthorne" (Septimus Winner)
EARLIEST DATE: 1868 (sheet music published by Sep. Winner of Philadelphia)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Jackson-PopularSongsOfNineteenthCenturyAmerica, pp. 241-245, "Whispering Hope" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Robert J. Morgan, _Then Sings My Soul, Book 2: 150 of the World's Greatest Hymn Stories_, Nelson, 2004, pp. 112-113, "Whispering Hope" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
The Blue Sky Boys, "Whispering Hope" (Bluebird 8401, 1940)
NOTES [194 words]: Alice Hawthorne was a leading pseudonym of Septimus Winner; he also listed her as the author of "Listen to the Mockingbird." (The name was a tribute to his mother.) For some reason, Winner published such trivia as "Oh Where Oh Where Is My Little Dog Gone" under his own name. - RBW
Is there any indication that this entered tradition, as we use the term? Or, to put it bluntly, are you sure this belongs in the Index? - PJS
If the question is, can it be proved that this song was popular in oral tradition, the answer is no. However, the material in Jackson claims to be bestsellers in popular music, and so presumably widely played in parlors. That strikes me as sufficient reason for inclusion. A lot of kids must have suffered through this song in their lives.
For more on Septimus Winner, see the notes to "Listen to the Mockingbird."
Edward Foote Gardner, Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century: Volume I -- Chart Detail & Encyclopedia 1900-1949, Paragon House, 2000, p. 502, estimates that this was the tenth most popular song in America in October 1949, based on a recording by Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae; it was also recorded by the Andrews Sisters. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.5
File: RJ19241

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