We'll Gather Lilacs, also called We'll Gather Lilacs In The Spring, is a song by Welsh composer

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

which he wrote for the hit musical romance '' Perchance to Dream''. The stage musical opened at the Hippodrome Theatre in London's West End in 1945 and ran until 1948. The song, sung in the show by

Olive Gilbert Olive Sarah Gilbert (22 November 1898 – 19 February 1981) was a British singer and actress, who, in a career spanning seven decades, performed first in opera and then in many of Ivor Novello's musicals in London's West End. After the First Wor ...

,"Miss Olive Gilbert", ''The Times'', 20 February 1981, p. 16, col. G was the most popular and enduring to emerge from the production.

It was originally recorded by Muriel Barron & Olive Gilbert (1945) and by Geraldo and his Orchestra, who reached the UK charts with it in 1946. A recording by

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

and His Orchestra (vocal by Stuart Foster) was a minor hit in the US in 1946. It has since been performed by many artists, including notably

Anne Ziegler Anne Ziegler (22 June 1910 – 13 October 2003) was an English singer, known for her light operatic duets with her husband Webster Booth. The pair were known as the "Sweethearts in Song" and were among the most famous and popular British musica ...

and

Webster Booth Webster Booth (21 January 1902 – 21 June 1984) was an English tenor, best remembered as the duettist partner of Anne Ziegler. He was also one of the finest tenors of his generation and was a distinguished oratorio soloist. He was a chorister ...

Richard Tauber Richard Tauber (16 May 1891 – 8 January 1948) was an Austrian tenor and film actor. Early life Richard Tauber was born in Linz, Austria, to Elisabeth Seifferth (née Denemy), a widow and an actress who played soubrette roles at the local theat ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

(recorded December 18, 1945),

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

(for his album ''

Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain ''Sinatra Sings Great Songs From Great Britain'' is an album by Frank Sinatra, arranged by Robert Farnon, recorded in London in June 1962 at CTS Studios by Eric Tomlinson, a renowned recording and film industry dubbing engineer, who would go o ...

'' (1962)), Marion Grimaldi and

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

.Ellacott, Vivya
''Perchance to Dream''
London Musicals: 1945–1949, p. 4, Over the Footlights, accessed 15 January 2013 Written as

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

drew to its close, the song describes the yearning of parted couples to be reunited. It evokes the joy they would feel when together once again, and the pleasures of the English countryside in spring with its

lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...

blossom.Ivor Novello, master of the musical
Simon Callow, The Guardian, 3 August 2012 The song was performed at Novello's cremation in 1951 by Olive Gilbert. It was also used in the 1954 film '' Lilacs in the Spring''.

Chorus

''We'll gather lilacs in the spring again'' ''And walk together down an English lane'' ''Until our hearts have learnt to sing again'' ''When you come home once more.'' ''And in the evening by the firelight's glow'' ''You'll hold me close and never let me go'' ''Your eyes will tell me all I want to know'' ''When you come home once more.''

References

External links

Original sheet music from 1947
1945 songs Songs of World War II Songs written by Ivor Novello {{1940s-song-stub