During the war she toured Egypt, India, and Burma (Myanmar) as part of ENSA, giving outdoor concerts for the troops. The songs most associated with her are "We'll Meet Again", "The White Cliffs of Dover", "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" and "There'll Always Be an England".
She remained popular after the war, appearing on radio and television in the UK and the US and recording such hits as "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" and her UK Number one single "My Son, My Son". Her last single, "I Love This Land", was released to mark the end of the Falklands War. In 2009, at age 92, she became the oldest living artist to top the UK Albums Chart.
She has devoted much time and energy to charity work connected with ex-servicemen, disabled children, and breast cancer. She is held in great affection by veterans of the Second World War to this day and in 2000 was named the Briton who best exemplified the spirit of the 20th century.
On 20th March, 2017 Dame Vera celebrated her 100th birthday.
Vera Margaret Welch was born in East Ham, London. She began performing publicly at the age of seven and adopted her maternal grandmother's maiden name, Margaret Lynn, as her stage name when she was eleven. Her first radio broadcast, with the Joe Loss Orchestra, was in 1935. At this point she was being featured on records released by dance bands including those of Loss and of Charlie Kunz.
Vera Lynn made her solo recording debut with the song "The General's Fast Asleep" on the 3rd October 1935, accompanied by the Rhythm Rascals (A pseudonym for Jay Wilbur's orchestra). The 9" 78 rpm single was issued on the Crown Records label, which went on to release a total of 8 singles recorded by Vera Lynn and Charles Smart on organ. Early recordings include "I'm in the Mood for Love" and "Red Sails in the Sunset".
In 1938 the Decca label took over control of the British Crown label and the UK based Rex label, they had also issued early singles from Lynn in 1937, including "Harbour Lights". In late September 1939 Vera Lynn first recorded a song that continues to be associated with her: "We'll Meet Again" was originally recorded with Arthur Young on the Novachord.
In 1940 she began her own radio series, "Sincerely Yours", sending messages to British troops stationed abroad. In this radio show she and a quartet performed the songs most requested to her by soldiers stationed abroad. She also went into hospitals to interview new mothers and send messages to their husbands overseas. She toured Burma and gave outdoor concerts for soldiers.
In 1941 Vera Lynn married Harry Lewis, clarinettist, saxophonist and fellow member of Bert Ambrose's orchestra.
In 1942 she recorded the Ross Parker/Hughie Charles song "We'll Meet Again" while making the film of the same name. The nostalgic lyrics ("We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day") had a great appeal to the many people separated from loved ones during the war, and it became one of the emblematic songs of the wartime period.
After the war, her "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" became the first record by a British artist to top the US charts, doing so for nine weeks, and she appeared regularly on Tallulah Bankhead's US radio programme "The Big Show". "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", along with "The Homing Waltz" and "Forget-Me-Not" gave Lynn a remarkable three entries on the first UK Singles Chart, a top 12 (which contained 15 songs owing to tied positions).
Lynn's career flourished in the 1950s, peaking with "My Son, My Son", a number-one hit in 1954. It was co-written by Eddie Calvert.
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s the Decca label issued all of Lynn's records, including several recorded with Mantovani and His Orchestra in 1942 and with Robert Farnon, from the late 1940s. Firstly they were only available as 78 rpm singles, which only feature two songs an A and a B-side. In the mid-1950s Decca issued several EP singles, which featured between two and four recordings per side, such as Vera Lynn's Party Sing Song from 1954 and singles were issued on two formats the known 78 rpm 10" and the recently introduced 45 rpm 7" single. In the late 1950s Lynn recorded four albums at Decca, the first; Vera Lynn Concert remains her only live recording ever to be issued on vinyl.
In 1960, after more than 20 years at Decca Records, Lynn signed to the US based MGM Records. In the UK her recordings were distributed by the His Masters Voice label, later EMI Records. Several albums and stand-alone singles were recorded with Geoff Love & His Orchestra. Norman Newell also took over as Lynn's producer in this period and remained with her until her 1976 album Christmas with Vera Lynn. Recording at EMI Records up until 1977, Lynn released thirteen albums with material as diverse as traditional Hymns, pop and country songs, as well as re-recording many of her known songs from the 1940s for the albums Hits of the Blitz (1962), More Hits of the Blitz and Vera Lynn Remembers – The World at War (1974). In the 1980s two albums of contemporary pop songs were recorded at the Pye Records label, both including covers of songs previously recorded by artists such as ABBA and Barry Manilow.
In 1982 Lynn released the stand-alone single "I Love This Land", written by André Previn, to mark the end of the Falklands War. Lynn's last recordings before her retirement were issued on the 1984 album Vera Lynn Remembers, produced by her husband, Harry. The album featured 17 re-recordings of songs known and associated with Lynn over her career.
Lynn was awarded the British War Medal 1939–1945 and the Burma Star.
She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1969 New Year Honours "for services to the Royal Air Forces Association and other charities", and was advanced to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1975 Birthday Honours for charitable services.
In 1976 she received an honorary doctorate from the Memorial University of Newfoundland. In 1977 She was made an honorary citizen of Nashville, Tennessee. She received the Freedom of the City of London in 1978.
She was made a Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 1985. She was made an Officer of the Order of Saint John (OStJ) in 1998 and, in 2000, Lynn received a special "Spirit of the 20th Century" Award.
A street named in her honour, Vera Lynn Close, is situated in Forest Gate, London.
She was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to entertainment and charity.
A preserved example of the WD Austerity 2-10-0 class of steam locomotives at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway is named Dame Vera Lynn.
Again
Vera Lynn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just for a while, dear, we must part
Don't let this parting upset you
I'll not forget you, sweetheart
We'll meet again
Don't know where
Don't know when
Some sunny day
Keep smiling through
Just like you always do
'Till the blue skies chase
Those dark clouds far away
And I will just say hello
To the folks that you know
Tell them you won't be long
They'll be happy to know
That, as I saw you go
You were singing this song
We'll meet again
Don't know where
Don't know when
But I know we'll meet again
Some sunny day
And I will just say hello
To the folks that you know
Tell them you won't be long
They'll be happy to know
That, as I saw you go
You were singing this song
We'll meet again
Don't know where
Don't know when
But I know we'll meet again
Some sunny day
The song "We'll Meet Again" by Vera Lynn represents the emotions and feelings of the soldiers who were fighting in World War II. It was released in 1939 before the war began. The song portrays a sense of optimism that despite the hard times the world was going through at that time, they would eventually see brighter days. The lyrics of the song are about two people who have to part ways, possibly for a long time, and about how they will meet again someday.
The song begins with the singer asking the person they're parting from to smile and not be upset. The singer assures the other person that they will not forget them. In the chorus, the singer repeats that they will meet again, but they don't know where or when they will do so. The singer encourages the other person to stay positive and keep smiling through the hardships. The song puts the focus on the idea that they will meet again on a "sunny day," which represents hope in dark times.
The verses of the song talk about the person who is leaving and the singer's promise to say hello to the people the person knows. The singer wants the people the person is leaving behind to be happy to know that they were singing this song when they left. In this way, the song takes on a bittersweet tone as it acknowledges the pain of parting but also hopes for a reunion in the future.
Overall, the song "We'll Meet Again" is a powerful reminder of the emotional toll of war and the hope that carries people through difficult times.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's say goodbye with a smile, dear
Instead of being sad, let's say goodbye happily
Just for a while, dear, we must part
We have to part for some time, but it won't be forever
Don't let this parting upset you
Don't get sad because we have to separate for a while
I'll not forget you, sweetheart
I will always remember you, my dear
We'll meet again
We will see each other again
Don't know where
We don't know the place where we'll meet again
Don't know when
We don't know the exact time of our reunion
But I know we'll meet again
I'm sure we will meet again
Some sunny day
Maybe on a happy day in the future
Keep smiling through
Continue to smile and be happy despite being apart
Just like you always do
Like how you kept on smiling before
'Till the blue skies chase
Until the bright blue sky replaces
Those dark clouds far away
The dark clouds, which signify sadness and separation, are gone
And I will just say hello
When I see your friends and acquaintances, I will greet them
To the folks that you know
To the people you are familiar with
Tell them you won't be long
Let them know that you'll come back soon
They'll be happy to know
They'll be glad to hear that
That, as I saw you go
When I watched you leave
You were singing this song
You were singing this song as you left
We'll meet again
We will see each other again
Don't know where
We don't know the place where we'll meet again
Don't know when
We don't know the exact time of our reunion
But I know we'll meet again
I'm sure we will meet again
Some sunny day
Maybe on a happy day in the future
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Hughie Charles, Ross Parker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Slowsad7
2017 y no creo que estas músicas pasen de moda para my. "hermoso"
Carie Mac
Lovely. These are the best kind of songs...ever created.
Timothy Cunningham
A great song from 1949 and a lovely performance from Vera Lynn. Just wonderful.
Rodolfo Moreno
Típica canción de la post guerra donde el hombre a pesar del sufrimiento de la guerra todavía tiene la capacidad de amar, aunque ella dice en la canción never,never again. cuando la escuche por primera vez me gusto esta hermosa melodía,me lleve una sorpresa cuando vi que ella también interpreta Lili Marlen. Gracias Kabukinami
Walter Gray
Beautiful.
Thank you for sharing.
Naim Emiliano Najera Perez
El corazón de una persona enamorada es más valioso que cualquiera otro
João Paulo Alvarez
Thanks for uploading this song!
Miguel Antonio González San Martín, de Chile.
Curiosamente, supe de la existencia de esta canción por una novelita de bolsillo. El detective privado, mientras va de bar en bar buscando alguna pista, tiene la costumbre de echar una moneda en la rocola para así escuchar su melodía favorita: Again.
Zev Feldman
sweet version
Dave Micklon
First version that charted in the US, Feb. 1949, several months before other versions hit (such as Doris Day, Mel Torme, and the Gordon Jenkins Orchestra).