We'll meet again

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Vera Lynn (1962)

We'll Meet Again is one of the most famous songs of the World War II era , written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles in 1939. It became known as Vera Lynn's version and subsequently became the anthem for the soldiers and their families. The song and the tours among the soldiers at the front contributed to Vera Lynn's image as "The Forces' Sweetheart". The song was one of the crooning songs popular at the time .

background

Ross Parker and Hughie Charles wrote the song to comfort families at home who were afraid they would no longer see their family members and loved ones because of the war.

Vera Lynn was the first female singer to record the song. Although she began to be musically active at the age of seven, this song was her breakthrough.

success

The song was a huge hit, but technically it wasn't a hit as the UK charts didn't yet exist. The best-of album We'll Meet Again - The Very Best Of in 2009, however, reached first place on the British album charts. The song also hit the charts in 2020 as Elizabeth II mentioned it in a televised address about the COVID-19 pandemic .

criticism

Much of the criticism has been directed towards the crooning style. Ultimately, the criticism got so loud that the BBC canceled Vera Lynn's radio show Sincerely Yours , which reached more than 20 percent of the UK population, after just twelve broadcasts. Even so, Vera Lynn's popularity did not decline.

In popular culture

Movies, television and radio

The song was played at the end of each time on Lynn's Sincerely Yours radio show .

In 1943, a musical of the same name was published in which Vera Lynn played the leading role. The song made its most famous film appearance at the end of the classic film Dr. Strange or: How I Learned to Love the Bomb by Stanley Kubrick . At Dr. Strange or: How I learned to love the bomb , the song is used ironically , since in the scene humanity was wiped out by a nuclear holocaust . The song was also used in the movie Kong: Skull Island (2017), in the British miniseries The Singing Detective (1986) and in television series such as True Blood , Inspector Barnaby , The Blacklist and Stranger Things .

In other songs

Pink Floyd quoted the piece in her song Vera, named after the singer, on the album The Wall . Here, too, it was used ironically because the father of the singer Roger Waters was killed in the Second World War. ABBA quote the chorus from We'll Meet Again in their song Hasta Mañana .

Covers

Musicians such as Johnny Cash , Peggy Lee and The Ink Spots covered the song.

In speeches

On April 5, 2020, Elisabeth II used lines from the song in her speech about the COVID-19 pandemic . Her wording was exact:

“We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again ”

Vera Lynn responded positively. A week later, Lynn and singer Katherine Jenkins released a duet of the song together to mark the pandemic, the proceeds will be donated.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Corona speech by the Queen: "We'll meet again". Retrieved April 7, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f The story behind Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again - and how it inspired everyone from Kubrick to the Queen. Retrieved April 7, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c The Story of ... 'We'll Meet Again': Vera Lynn's WWII song referenced by The Queen. Retrieved April 7, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Dame Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again soars 830 places to number 22 in iTunes charts after Queen references her World War Two anthem in coronavirus speech. Retrieved April 7, 2020 .
  5. ^ The forgotten World War II backlash against Vera Lynn. Retrieved April 7, 2020 .
  6. ↑ BBC: We'll Meet Again. Retrieved April 7, 2020 .
  7. ↑ 'We'll meet again': Queen Elizabeth invokes WW2 spirit to defeat coronavirus. Retrieved April 7, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Listen to Katherine Jenkins and Vera Lynn duet on 'We'll Meet Again' in aid of NHS. Retrieved April 12, 2020 (English).