Song of the Week 18: Remember Me (When The Candlelights Are Gleaming)

Scott Wiseman wrote this song in 1939 and he and his singing partner and wife Lulu Belle released it in 1940. Its inspiration was a vintage cup and saucer that was a family memento of his dad’s and mom’s courtship. The sentimental value of this item was so great, that the children were not allowed to touch it. Scott was touched by it, however, and during a bout of homesickness, wrote a song based on the lettering on the cup, which read “Remember Me”. The song is about a pair of star-crossed lovers who separate with the those words and then drift apart forever. With each subsequent verse, the phrase becomes more and more bittersweet.

The best-known recording of the song is by T. Texas Tyler around 1949. That record influenced versions by Bob Dylan in the early 1960’s and the one most music fans know by Willie Nelson on his “Red-Headed Stranger” album in 1975. A Little Farther West recorded it last year on our “Mountain Storm” album because it is one of Susie’s favorite songs ever. Then just this year John Prine (with Kathy Mattea) released it on his “Tree Of Forgiveness” album that topped the Americana music chart.