Now Is The Hour - Gracie Fields and a New Zealand Lullaby Turned Global Goodbye
Release Date: 07/12/2025
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info_outlineIn this episode of The A to Z of Wartime Song, hosts Lili Redman and Tom Carradine explore the poignant and poetic “Now Is the Hour”, a wartime farewell song which started life in New Zealand.
They trace the tune’s journey from the 1913 piano piece “Swiss Cradle Song” through its Maori adaptation as “Po Atarau”, to its powerful role in farewelling ANZAC soldiers and its eventual transformation into the global hit we know today. Alongside Gracie Fields’ famous rendition, the episode spotlights the many competing recordings that flooded the charts in 1948, including versions by Bing Crosby, Margaret Whiting and many more.
Lili also shares her deep admiration for Gracie Fields, tracing her extraordinary life from Rochdale to Capri, including her tireless wartime service, a battle with serious illness and the controversies that followed her across the Atlantic.
REFERENCES
TankFest 2025
https://tankmuseum.org/
Capel Military Show
https://www.capelmilitaryshow.com/
The People’s Mosquito
https://www.peoplesmosquito.org.uk/
https://www.peoplesmosquito.org.uk/2025/06/24/ibccdedication/
Gracie Field’s
http://graciefields.org/wordpress/
Sally in our Alley
https://youtu.be/QdJxfECY4aM?si=3Ohm-SPp7r6UCE_n
Gracie sings “Sally” on the Royal Variety Performance (1978)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoaHT3JMu4k
Shipyard Sally
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZIOAlMZRSU
Little Man in a Bowler Hat
http://graciefields.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Strube.jpg
La Canzone del Mare (Capri)
https://www.lacanzonedelmare.com/
Now Is The Hour - History of the Various Versions
https://www.folksong.org.nz/poatarau/
Red White and Navy Blue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMoykfXymaw&list=RDtMoykfXymaw&start_radio=1
Rolling wheels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aly2h-KXDyk&list=RDaly2h-KXDyk&start_radio=1
Maori Battalion March to Victory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXUrSnM5Q2I&list=RDkXUrSnM5Q2I&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvEAggml5co
For We Are the Boys of the Southern Cross
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6odUsiIldzU&list=RD6odUsiIldzU&start_radio=1
Songs We Sang - Les Cleveland
https://rnzaoc.com/2019/08/23/the-songs-we-sang/
Sons of Gallipoli
https://youtu.be/N19p71z5iVI?si=A3tvI1eYH2XCrEid
Glenn Miller Festival, Clarinda, Iowa
https://www.glennmiller.org/festival
Twinwood Festival
https://twinwoodevents.com/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:50 Catch Up
03:03 N = Now Is The Hour
03:49 Gracie Fields
04:25 Gracie's Early Years
05:15 Gracie's Rise to Fame
06:34 Gracie's Marriage to Archie Pitt
07:38 "Sally in our Alley"
09:58 Gracie's Charity Work
11:25 Gracie's Health Struggles and Public Support
17:11 Gracie's Return to the Stage and Wartime Work
19:28 Marriage to Monty Banks
21:33 Gracie's Post-War Career
22:04 Marriage to Boris Alperovici
22:26 Gracie's "Miss Marple"
23:41 Life in Capri and Celebrity Connections
25:08 Gracie's Final Years
25:58 The Origins of "Now Is The Hour"
30:00 Gracie's Discovery of the Song
32:41 Other Post-War Recordings
33:25 Discussing the Sheet Music
35:28 Discussing the Lyrics
35:55 Lyrics and Their Cultural Significance
37:06 Discussing the Music
40:24 Discussing Recordings: Gracie Fields
42:18 Bing Crosby
44:11 Vera Lynn
45:06 Margaret Whiting
46:06 Buddy Clarke
47:28 Eddie Howard
48:43 Kate Smith
49:12 Our Favourite Recording?
50:19 Recommendations for Further Listening
52:50 Mentioned in Dispatches
55:14 Teaser for Next Episode
56:24 Outro
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
You can follow the podcast on social media:
http://instagram.com/warsongspod
https://www.facebook.com/warsongspod
Find more information about Lili Redman here:
https://liliredman.com/
https://www.instagram.com/lili__redman/
https://www.facebook.com/ScalaLil
Or Tom Carradine here:
https://www.tomcarradine.com/
https://www.instagram.com/tomcarradine
https://www.facebook.com/mrtomcarradine
CONTACT THE PODCAST
If there's a wartime song that you think they should discuss, or if you have a personal or family story connected to one, drop them a line at warsongspod@gmail.com to be "Mentioned in Dispatches".
LISTENING LINKS
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ktQ4nyudmPRLcCNyNxEfv?si=ac9e1babe6834f2b
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-a-to-z-of-wartime-song/id1806037318
If you’ve enjoyed this episode Lili and Tom would be grateful if you’d leave a review and make sure you’ve subscribed and turned on notifications so you’ll never miss an episode.
