Composed in 1957 by Ewan MacColl for his third wife Peggy Seeger. They said it was written over a period of seven or eight minutes during a transatlantic telephone call. MacColl himself never sang the song again, but it has been covered by many, including Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. The most well known version was by Roberta Flack in 1972, reaching No.1 and winning two Grammy Awards.