Harold Lake had been a great friend of Harry Dearth, the ballad singer, from when they had been in the choir school of Westminster Abbey together.

Dearth had urged Lake to try to write lyrics, but it was not until some years after, that "I Hear You Calling Me" was written.

Lake explained that behind the events which led up to its composition lay a story of youthful romance:[1] A 16-year-old pupil teacher at an elementary school in Canterbury met a girl nearly a year his junior.

[1] He was reported to have sold the song for a few pounds, but made a fortune from the sale of its gramophone recordings.

[5] The song became so closely identified with him that his wife Lily adopted it as the title of her biography of him.