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.
You'll Never Know
Vera Lynn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You'll never know just how much I care
And if I tried, I still couldn't hide my love for you
You ought to know, for haven't I told you so
A million or more times?
You went away and my heart went with you
I speak your name in my every prayer
I swear I don't know how
You'll never know if you don't know now
(You went away and my heart went with you
I speak your name in my every prayer)
If there is some other way to prove that I love you
I swear I don't know how
You'll never know if you don't know now
You'll never know if you don't know now
Vera Lynn's song "You'll Never Know" is a beautiful love ballad that expresses the depth of emotions that one feels for someone who is gone. Lynn sings about missing and caring for someone so much that it's impossible to hide it, even if she tried. She asks the person if they don't already know how much she loves them, as she has told them "a million or more times." Her heart went away with the person, and now she speaks their name in every prayer. Lynn confesses that she doesn't know how else to prove her love for them, but she wants them to know it now, or they may never know.
The lyrics of this song are simple yet powerful. It's a poignant expression of love that can't be hidden or suppressed. The song is about longing, missing, and hoping for love. The songwriters Ralph Freed and Burton Lane wrote the song for the 1943 movie "Hello, Frisco, Hello," where it was sung by Alice Faye. The song became an instant hit and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year. Vera Lynn's version also gained immense popularity and became a signature song for her.
The song has become an iconic love ballad and has been covered by several artists. It was referenced in movies like "Forrest Gump," "Pearl Harbor," and "In Her Shoes." It's also been used in TV shows like "Mad Men" and "Fargo." The deep emotions that it expresses make it a timeless classic that resonates even today. It's a reminder that true love never fades away.
Line by Line Meaning
You'll never know just how much I miss you
I miss you tremendously and it's impossible for you to truly understand the extent of my longing.
You'll never know just how much I care
You're very important to me and I care for you deeply, but you may not even realize it.
And if I tried, I still couldn't hide my love for you
I cannot contain my love for you, no matter how much I try to conceal it or hide my feelings.
You ought to know, for haven't I told you so
I have told you countless times how much I love and care for you, therefore you should already know.
A million or more times?
Perhaps I have even told you more times than I can count.
You went away and my heart went with you
When you left, a part of me went with you and my heart has been incomplete since then.
I speak your name in my every prayer
I think of you constantly and even include you in my prayers every time I pray.
If there is some other way to prove that I love you
If there is any other way for me to demonstrate my love for you, I am not aware of it.
I swear I don't know how
I genuinely have no idea of any other way to prove my love for you than the ways I have already expressed.
You'll never know if you don't know now
If you do not realize the depth of my love for you by now, you may never know or never understand it fully.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Paul Robi, Tony Williams, Jean Miles
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mike Smith
When my mom learned that my dad had been captured during WWII, one of the things she did was go to an arcade downtown that had a little recording booth and record this song with no accompaniment. She kept it as a keepsake for the rest of her life. She played it for him when the War was over and he came home. I discovered it in their large record collection and played it, a few times. She really had a beautiful voice, and I could hear her emotion. The recording wasn't very good quality, and unfortunately over the years it became unplayable on any turntables. I had tried to record it onto tape, but that didn't last, either. I'm not sure what happened to the recording as I grew up and got on with my life. I couldn't find it among my parents' belongings when they passed.
lecil2
+Mike Smith What a wonderful story, Mike.
a disturbed pistachio
What keeps the great things alive is having memories and sharing them with others. Even if the recording has gone bad, its effects are to stay.
Hemma Steinbauer
Mike Smith Such a touching story, dear Mike!!! Thank you for sharing it to us :-)
Drew Sagar
Mike Smith I know how you must feel Mike my father recorded a V disc for my Mother before he went overseas . Lost to time now
Linda Norman
relaxing and lovely
brotherjohn25
Reminds me of my mom. She used to sing this when I was a young boy. I'm now a grandfather.
Sam
brotherjohn25 This makes me happy for some odd reason.
GiganticPyro
Oh man, that's heavy...
Minda Corl
brotherjohn25 :booa