| "We'll Meet Again" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by Vera Lynn | ||
| Released | 1939 | |
| Length | 3:01 | |
| Writer | Ross Parker (music), Hughie Charles (lyrics) | |
"We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song made famous by British singer Vera Lynn with music written by Ross Parker and words by Hughie Charles. The song is one of the most famous songs of the Second World War era, and resonated with soldiers going off to fight and their families and sweethearts. The assertion that "we'll meet again" is optimistic, as many soldiers did not survive to see their loved ones again. Indeed, the meeting place at some unspecified time in the future would have been seen by many who lost loved ones to be heaven. The song gave its name to the 1943 musical film We'll Meet Again in which Vera Lynn played the lead role. Lynn's recording is featured in Stanley Kubrick's 1964 movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, and was also used in the closing scenes of the 1986 BBC television serial The Singing Detective. During the Cold War, Vera Lynn's recording was included in the package of music and programmes held in 20 underground radio stations of the BBC's Wartime Broadcasting Service (WTBS), designed to provide public information and morale-boosting broadcasts for 100 days after a nuclear attack[1].
Pink Floyd makes reference to this song and the performer in "Vera," a song from the Pink Floyd album The Wall: "Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn?/Remember how she said that we would meet again some sunny day?". A short clip of "We'll Meet Again" can be heard at the beginning of the first track on the Pink Floyd album Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81. This song is regularly used in the English football league, and is often sung to teams getting relegated. The American folk rock band The Byrds used the song as the closing track on their debut album Mr. Tambourine Man (1965). Johnny Cash covered this song on the last album that was released when he was alive, his 2002 American IV: The Man Comes Around. It is the last track on the album. The Turtles released a cover of this song as a single.
The song was also featured in the 2006 film "Severance",sung by Ed Harcourt. After getting off The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in Walt Disney World, Florida, riders hear the song "We'll Meet Again." an ironic and chilling notion getting off the ride. The band Bomb the Music Industry!'s song "Future 86" is partly based off of "We'll Meet Again."
References
- ^ Hellen, Nicholas. "Julie Andrews to sing to Brits during nuclear attack", Sunday Times, 1999-07-11.
