[1] The notion of "whispering grass" which reveals a person's secrets extends back to Greek mythology, notably the myth of Midas.
[3] A live instrumental version was played and recorded by Johnny Hodges with Duke Ellington and his orchestra in the Cristal Ballroom, Fargo, North Dakota, also in 1940.
Davies and Estelle played the characters of Battery Sergeant Major Williams and Gunner "Lofty" Sugden, respectively, in the BBC sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum, which had begun the previous year and which centered on a British Armed Forces concert party stationed in Burma during the Second World War.
[9] Ridley saw the song's potential as a single,[8] and "Whispering Grass" was released on April 25, 1975,[7] with the full credit of "Windsor Davies as B.S.M.
[10] The single also reached the top five in Ireland, and was a minor hit in New Zealand in 1976 and in Australia in 1977, after It Ain't Half Hot Mum was broadcast in those countries.