"Arms of Mary" is a song written by Iain Sutherland and performed by
Sutherland Brothers
The Sutherland Brothers (Gavin and Iain Sutherland) were a Scottish folk and soft rock duo. From 1973 to 1978, they performed with rock band Quiver, and recorded and toured as Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. Under this combined moniker, the grou ...
and Quiver. It was a 1976 international hit single for the band; the ''
Glasgow Herald
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
'' in its obituary for Iain Sutherland described "Arms of Mary" as "a plaintive and radio-friendly
folk-rock ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
in which the narrator reminisces over the woman he first made love to."
Original version
Iain Sutherland would recall writing "Arms of Mary" at the family farmhouse in the
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
village of Stockton Brook, adding: "The stuff about 'the lights shine down the valley'
he opening line
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
I was looking down through
Endon
Endon is a village within the Staffordshire Moorlands district of Staffordshire, England. It is southwest of Leek and north-northeast of Stoke-on-Trent. Endon was formerly a township in civil parish of Leek.
Together with neighbouring Stan ...
basically", citing the village of Endon situated in the
Churnet Valley
The River Churnet is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove.
Etymology
The origins of the name "Churnet" are unknown, though it is thought to derive from the pre-English, British name for the river.
Course ...
. "Arms of Mary" was introduced on the September 1975 album release ''
Reach for the Sky'' which marked the debut of the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver on
CBS Records CBS Records may refer to:
* CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company
* CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990
* CBS Records (2006), founde ...
: Iain Sutherland would comment: "The main reason we left
revious label Island ">ecordswas because they wouldn't distribute singles from our albums in the United States." (In fact the group had reached No. 48 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1973 with the Island release "
(I Don't Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway
"(I Don't Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway" is a song written by Iain Sutherland and performed by Sutherland Brothers Quiver (band), and Quiver. It was released as a Single (music), single in 1973, and is from the 1973 album ''Lifeboat''.
...
").
Subsequent to the unsuccessful lead single release from ''Reach for the Sky'', "Ain't Too Proud", "Arms of Mary" had a spring 1976 single release in both the UK and the US, affording the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver their UK chart debut. A ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'' performance broadcast 8 May 1976 helped boost the track ten notches to No. 6 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
dated 15 May 1976 with a No. 5 peak the following week. "Arms of Mary" was also an international success, most notably in Ireland and the Netherlands - in which the track was No. 1 for respectively four and three weeks in those territories - with the track also spending two weeks at No. 1 on the Dutch charts for Belgium.
However, "Arms of Mary" did not afford the Sutherland Brothers the American hit in hopes of which they'd moved to CBS Records, as the track failed to accrue enough interest to rise higher than No. 81 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in April 1976.
Chilliwack version
In 1978, Canadian band
Chilliwack
Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are numerous outdoor ...
remade "Arms of Mary" for the group's seventh album release, which was entitled ''
Lights from the Valley'' after the song's opening lyric. The album's lead single, "Arms of Mary" was recorded by Chilliwack at the suggestion of Marc Gilutin who had been recruited by
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...
to co-produce the group after Mushroom had rejected two distinct sets of tracks - self-produced and self-penned by Chilliwack - which the group had submitted for potential release as their seventh album.
''Lights from the Valley'' would be the only Chilliwack album not entirely self-produced by the group, and "Arms of Mary" would be the first (and it would prove only) non-original song to serve as a Chilliwack single release since the band had been rebranded from "
The Collectors". Chilliwack mainstay Bill Henderson would recall he and his bandmates being unhappy with an "outside song" being a Chilliwack single:
(Bill Henderson quote:) "All musicians have played other people’s songs
utonce you
ve launched arecording career
...you're supposed to do it yourself. That was something
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
started."
Chilliwack would only ever record one other song not penned by a group member: "In Love With A Look" (Myers/ Jalananda) also featured on ''Lights from the Valley''.
Reportedly "Arms of Mary" was playlisted by every key Canadian AM radio station with the exception of the most influential:
CHUM-AM
CHUM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, broadcasting on 1050 kHz. The station is owned and operated by Bell Media. CHUM's studios are co-located with The Sports Network, TSN at 9 Channel Nine Court in the Agincourt, Toronto, A ...
in Toronto whose disinterest would factor into the track's failure to become one of Chilliwack's most successful Canadian chart hits with a modest No. 49 peak. "Arms of Mary" would however become the fourth Chilliwack single to rank on the
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
in ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' with its No. 67 peak outranking the band's three previous Hot 100 entries. "Arms of Mary" would remain Chilliwack's last Hot 100 entry until 26 September 1981 when "
My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)
"My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)" is a song that was performed by the Canadian group Chilliwack. Co-written by bandmembers Brian MacLeod and Bill Henderson, it was released on the band's 1981 album '' Wanna Be a Star''.
In Canada, the song spent four ...
" debuted at No. 81: by its third week on the chart - that of 10 October 1981 - "My Girl
..." had bested "Arms of Mary" as Chilliwack's highest ranking Hot 100 entry, "My Girl
..."'s 10 October 1981 Hot 100 ranking being No. 60, with its eventual No. 22 peak setting up "My Girl
... to remain Chilliwack's best-ever Hot 100 showing.
A live version of "Arms of Mary" appears on ''
There and Back - Live
There may refer to:
* ''There'' (film), a 2009 Turkish film (Turkish title: ''Orada'')
* ''There'' (virtual world)
*''there'', a deictic adverb in English
*''there'', an English pronoun used in phrases such as '' there is'' and ''there are''
{ ...
'' a 2003 concert album by a latterday incarnation of Chilliwack fronted by Bill Henderson, who in 2022 would state he no longer nursed misgivings over "Arms of Mary"'s inclusion in the Chilliwack oeuvre:
(Bill Henderson quote:) "It's a really nice song and people love it and I enjoy playing it."
Other versions
"Arms of Mary" has also been recorded by
Lady Flash (''Beauties in the Night'' 1976),
October Cherries
The October Cherries were a late 1960s group from Singapore. The group was originally known as the Surfers, but changed their name to The October Cherries in 1968. (''World Hits '76'' 1976),
the Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...
(''
Born Yesterday'' 1985),
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...
(''
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...
'' 1991),
Piet Veerman
Piet Veerman (born 1 March 1943) is a Dutch pop musician. From 1964 to 1985 he was a guitarist and singer for The Cats, and since 1968 the lead singer for all the singles of this band. He released a first solo album in 1975 but started his solo ca ...
(''In Between'' 1992, duet with Mell, 2014),
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...
(''
Peculiaroso'' 1994),
Boyzone
Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show''. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Steph ...
(''
Said and Done
''Said and Done'' is the debut album by Irish boy band Boyzone. The album was released on 21 August 1995 by Polydor Records and went straight to No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart. The album sold 1.2 million copies in the first year of its release. A ...
'' 1995),
Smokie (''Uncovered'' 2000), Dominic Kirwan (''Under Your Spell'' 2002),
Kevin Kennedy (''Present Kennedy'' 2002),
Jan Keizer (''Going Back in Time II'' 2004), Nicholis Louw (''My Hart Is Aan Die Brand'' 2004),
Janne Önnerud & Co (''Kryddboden'' 1978) and
Wisex (''
Miss Decibel
''Miss Decibel'' is a 1978 studio album from Swedish "dansband" Wizex. The album contained the song " Miss Decibel", which was listed on Svensktoppen, along with the song "Om en stund". The album reached number two on the Swedish Albums Chart.
...
'' 1978). The
New Pornographers included "Arms of Mary" on their 2007
EP ''Spirit of Giving'' placing the song in tandem with "Looking at a Baby" - recorded by Chilliwack in their earlier incarnation as the Collectors - and presenting the track as a Christmas song. In 2012,
the Minus 5
The Minus 5 is an American pop rock band headed by musician Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows, often in partnership with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.
Band history
McCaughey formed the band in 1993 as a side project with Buck, Jon Auer ...
recorded a version for a fundraising CD titled ''Super Hits of the Seventies'' for radio station
WFMU
WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey. Since 1998 its studios and operating facilities have been headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It broadcasts locally at 91.1 Mhz FM, i ...
. German techno band
Scooter released their own version called "
Mary Got No Lamb" in 2016, from their album ''
Ace
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
''.
Translated versions of the song include "Ich seh' dich mit meinen Augen", a 1976 single by German singer Rebekka, "Marys arme" on the 1977 album ''Din Sang'' by
Bamse
''Bamse – Världens starkaste björn'' () is a Swedish cartoon created by Rune Andréasson. The highly popular children's cartoon first emerged as a series of television short films as well as a weekly Comic strip formats#Half page, half-page ...
, "Naisen verran" on the 1977 album ''Enkelit on harvinasta riistaa'' by
Seppo Närhi, "Laat me in je armen rusten" on the 2007 album ''Hommage III'' by
Mama's Jasje, and "Sandy" on the 2015 album ''Gisteren wordt vandaag'' by
Willy Sommers.
Charts
Sutherland Brothers and Quiver version
Chilliwack version
Piet Veerman version
Notes
References
{{authority control
1975 songs
1976 singles
1978 singles
The Sutherland Brothers songs
Quiver (band) songs
Chilliwack (band) songs
Keith Urban songs
Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
CBS Records singles
EMI Records singles
1970s ballads
Folk ballads
Rock ballads