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.
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Vera Lynn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you see what I see?
(Do you see what I see?)
Way up in the sky, little lamb
Do you see what I see?
(Do you see what I see?)
A star, a star, dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite
Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy
Do you hear what I hear?
(Do you hear what I hear?)
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy
Do you hear what I hear?
(Do you hear what I hear?)
A song, a song high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea
Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king
Do you know what I know? (Do you know what I know?)
In your palace warm, mighty king
Do you know what I know? (Do you know what I know?)
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold
Let us bring him silver and gold
Let us bring him silver and gold
Said the king to the people everywhere
Listen to what I say! (Listen to what I say!)
Pray for peace, people, everywhere
Listen to what I say! (Listen to what I say!)
The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light
Vera Lynn's "Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a beautiful Christmas carol that begins with the night wind asking the little lamb if it sees what she sees. The lamb replies by saying a star is dancing in the sky with a tail as big as a kite. The shepherd boy then eavesdrops and asks if the other person hears what he hears, which is a song ringing through the sky with a voice as big as the sea. Finally, the mighty king hears about the Child that is shivering in the cold, and with his wealth, he decides to bring silver and gold. The king then addresses the people everywhere to listen to him and pray for peace, for the Child that is sleeping in the night will bring us goodness and light.
The song is a beautiful telling of how each person in the story heard or saw something and made a decision to act for the betterment of the Child. It is a message of hope, peace, and unity that is often associated with Christmas time. The song encourages kindness, generosity, and concern for others, especially those who might be less fortunate than us.
Line by Line Meaning
Said the night wind to the little lamb
A personification of the wind speaking to a lamb in the dark
Do you see what I see?
Asking the lamb if it can see an object in the sky
(Do you see what I see?)
Repeating the question to emphasize its importance
Way up in the sky, little lamb
Giving the lamb a directional cue of where to look
A star, a star, dancing in the night
Identifying the object in the sky as a brightly shining star
With a tail as big as a kite
Describing the star's tail as large and flowing
Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy
The lamb relaying information to the shepherd boy
Do you hear what I hear?
Asking the shepherd boy if he can hear something in the sky
(Do you hear what I hear?)
Repeating the question to emphasize its importance
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy
Describing the sound as echoing through the sky
A song, a song high above the trees
Identifying the sound as a beautiful song
With a voice as big as the sea
Comparing the sound of the song to the vastness of the ocean
Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king
The shepherd boy informing the king of the sound in the sky
Do you know what I know? (Do you know what I know?)
Asking the king if he has knowledge of a situation
In your palace warm, mighty king
Describing the king's luxurious living quarters
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold
Informing the king of a poor child who is cold and suffering
Let us bring him silver and gold
Proposing a plan to help the child with monetary gifts
Said the king to the people everywhere
The king addressing his entire kingdom
Listen to what I say! (Listen to what I say!)
Urging the people to pay close attention to his words
Pray for peace, people, everywhere
Asking the people to pray for peace in the world
The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
Identifying the child as asleep in the darkness
He will bring us goodness and light
Expressing hope for a brighter future due to the child's presence
Writer(s): Noel Regney, Gloria Shayne, Arr: Robert Carr
Contributed by Makayla W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
James M. Hamilton
Rest well Vera...
Károlyné Szépvölgyi
Nagyon tetszett ez a szép videó film.
Gyönyörű ez a dal, csodálatos volt az énekesnő.
Üdvözletem Klára Szépvölgyi
John wesson
Thanks for listening Karolyne much appreciated
Alan Gallagher
24th December 2020...my Christmas is made listening to this!