During World War II, the British Government was concerned over the rising suicide rate. They instructed the BBC to play the ballad WHISPERING HOPE each day.

Such was the effect that the suicide rate among depressed people losing hope in their future plummeted.

This song was written in 1868 by Septimus Winner (1827-1902) and is sometimes found with credit to ‘Alice Hawthorne,’ which was one of his pseudonyms, as is the case with this sheet music published by The Standard Music Publishing Company, Philadelphia (1915): Whispering Hope, A Duet for Soprano and Alto

‘Soft as the voice of an angel,

Breathing a lesson unheard,

Hope with a gentle persuasion

Whispers her comforting word:

Wait till the darkness is over,

Wait till the tempest is done,

Hope for the sunshine tomorrow,

After the shower is gone.’ — from ‘Whispering Hope’

What could the comforting hymn Whispering Hope have to do with well-known little ditties? These include Listen to the Mockingbird, Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone? and Ten Little Indians?

They were all written by Alice Hawthorne, one of the pseudonyms used by the 19th-century songwriter Septimus Winner.

The famous poet, composer, and violinist was born in 1827 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the seventh child of Joseph Eastburn Winner. His mother was Mary Ann Hawthorne, a relative of Nathanial Hawthorne.

Winner was a self-taught musician. He studied violin briefly around 1853 with Leopold Meignen. Meignen was a former bandmaster in Napoleon’s army. He was also a composer and conductor.

Winner could play a variety of instruments. These included the guitar and banjo. Winner became proficient in the violin by the age of 20.

After graduating from Philadelphia’s Central High School, he opened a music shop. He gave lessons on a number of instruments. He also performed locally with the Cecillian Music Society and the Philadelphia Brass Band.

From 1845 to 1854, Winner and his brother, Joseph, formed a music publishing business, Winner & Shuster. Winner continued this business with various partners and names until 1902.

During this time, he wrote or edited 200 volumes of music for more than 20 instruments. He produced more than 2,000 arrangements for violin and piano. Additionally, he created more than 1,500 easy arrangements for a number of instruments. His book on banjo instruction is still used today.

Winner died in Philadelphia from a heart attack in 1902 at the age of 75. He was a frequent contributor to Graham’s Magazine, which was then edited by Edgar Allen Poe. He also founded Philadelphia’s Musical Fund Society. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

Songs

Winner gained popularity through the ballads he wrote under the pseudonym Alice Hawthorne. These works came to be known as Hawthorne’s Ballads.

His first successful song, What is Home Without a Mother? was written in 1854. The next year, he wrote Listen to the Mockingbird. It became one of the biggest hits of that time.

Winner sold the rights for this song for the sum of $5. It sold more than 25 million copies of sheet music.

Winner reportedly got the idea for Mockingbird after hearing a young black boy, Dick Milburn. He was whistling and playing guitar on the streets. The whistling turned into an imitation of a mockingbird. The song became especially popular in the South, where mockingbirds are common.

President Abraham Lincoln said the song is as sincere as the laughter of a little girl at a play. King Edward VII of England said that he whistled the song when he was a little boy.

Whispering Hope was published in 1868. It was also written under the name Alice Hawthorne. According to friends of Winner, it was not meant to be a religious song.

But it proved to be his most successful song, a fact that amazed, and even amused, Winner. The hymn gained instant success in churches and has been published in hymnbooks continuously since that time.

Hebrews 6:19 states, ‘This hope we have as an anchor of the soul. It is both sure and steadfast. It enters the presence behind the veil.’ The text of the song refers to the anchor that keeps the soul unwavering. It is the Whispering Hope for all Christians.

This is the work Winner will be most remembered for — the last popular song written before his death. ‘Whispering hope, oh how welcome thy voice, Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.’

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