"We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song by English singer

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

with music and lyrics composed and written by English songwriters Ross Parker and

Hughie Charles Hughie Charles (24 July 1907 – 6 October 1995), was an English songwriter and producer of musical theatre. Born Charles Hugh Owen Ferry in Manchester, he is best known for co-writing the songs "We'll Meet Again "We'll Meet Again" is a 19 ...

. The song is one of the most famous of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era, resonating with servicemen going off to fight as well as their families and loved ones.

Background

The song was published by Michael Ross Limited, whose directors included Louis Carris, Ross Parker and Norman Keen. Keen, an English pianist, collaborated with Parker and Hughie Charles on "We'll Meet Again", as well as many other songs published by the company, including " There'll Always Be an England" and "I'm In Love For The Last Time". The song's original recording featured Lynn accompanied by Arthur Young on Hammond Novachord (an early electronic keyboard), while a rerecording in 1953 featured a more lavish instrumentation and a chorus of

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

personnel.

Composition

The song was originally written in the key of

D major D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...

, set to a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 92 BPM.

Legacy after World War II

During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, 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 The Wartime Broadcasting Service is a service of the BBC that is intended to broadcast in the United Kingdom either after a nuclear attack or if conventional bombing destroyed regular BBC facilities in a conventional war. It is unclear if the ...

(WTBS), designed to provide public information and morale-boosting broadcasts for 100 days after a

nuclear attack Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can prod ...

. The song reached number 29 on the U.S. charts. Lynn sang the song in London on the 60th anniversary of

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

in 2005 alongside

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

and

Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was an English entertainer and television presenter whose career spanned more than 75 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the Associated Te ...

. In April 2020, a charity duet with

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

charities. In May 2020 following the 75th Anniversary celebrations of VE Day, the solo version by Lynn also reached number 55 in the UK chart.

Use in media

The song inspired and gave its name to the 1943

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

We'll Meet Again "We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song by English singer Vera Lynn with music and lyrics composed and written by English songwriters Ross Parker and Hughie Charles. The song is one of the most famous of the Second World War era, resonating with ...

'', where Lynn stars in a loose adaptation of her life as a

Forces' Sweetheart Forces Sweetheart (or Forces' Sweetheart) is an accolade given to entertainers, actors and singers. Originally the term was used in the United Kingdom to note popular showbiz personalities that became a favourite of soldiers in the British Arm ...

during the war. Lynn's 1953 recording is featured in the final scene of

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

's 1964 film ''

Dr. Strangelove ''Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'' (known simply and more commonly as ''Dr. Strangelove'') is a 1964 political satire black comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is loosely ...

'' with a bitter irony, as the song accompanies a

nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear annihilation, nuclear armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a Futures studies, theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes widespread destruction and radi ...

that wipes out humanity. The song is used in the closing scenes of the 1986

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television serial ''

The Singing Detective ''The Singing Detective'' is a six-part BBC television serial drama, written by Dennis Potter, starring Michael Gambon and directed by Jon Amiel. Its six episodes are "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It". ...

''. In the 2012

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

and

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...

animated series ''

Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery television comedy, comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twi ...

'', villain

Bill Cipher The following is a list of characters from the Disney Channel/Disney XD animated series ''Gravity Falls''. All of the characters listed have appeared in the first and second seasons. Overview Main * Mason "Dipper" Pines (voiced by Jason R ...

sings this song to

Ford Pines The following is a list of characters from the Disney Channel/Disney XD animated series ''Gravity Falls''. All of the characters listed have appeared in the first and second seasons. Overview Main * Mason "Dipper" Pines (voiced by Jason R ...

during the

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...

Cultural impact

* The song has been credited as one of the first to make use of the Hammond Novachord, the first

polyphonic synthesizer Polyphony is a property of musical instruments that means that they can play multiple independent melody lines simultaneously. Instruments featuring polyphony are said to be polyphonic. Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophon ...

. * Traditionally, this song is played on 5 May as a closure to the

Liberation Day Liberation Day is a day, often a public holiday, that marks the liberation of a place, similar to an independence day, but differing from it because it does not involve the original creation of statehood. It commemorates the end of an occupation ...

Concert in Amsterdam, to mark the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the Netherlands. * In 2024, the piece was performed by the South Netherlands Philharmonic at the

Netherlands American Cemetery Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial () is a Second World War military war grave cemetery, located in the village of Margraten, east of Maastricht, in the most southern part of the Netherlands. The cemetery, the only American one in the N ...

. "We'll Meet Again" closed out the program, which commemorated the 80th anniversary of The Netherlands' liberation. *On 5 April 2020,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

referenced the song in a rare televised address that aired to Britain and the Commonwealth, where she expressed her gratitude for the efforts people are taking to mitigate the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

virus and acknowledged the severe challenges being faced by families across the world. The reference spurred covers by

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...

stars with Lynn and

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.NHS Charities Together The Association of NHS Charities, operating as NHS Charities Together, is a network of over 230 charitable organisations that support the devolved National Health Service (NHS), their staff, patients, and communities in the United Kingdom. It ...

. * The song is one of several played in the waiting queue of the Tower of Terror ride at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

. * During the series finale of

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December ...

, dozens of past guests of the show returned to sing the song together. * The

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

song "

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

", from ''

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/ EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera which explores Pink, a jaded rock star, as he constructs a psychologic ...

'' (1979), references lyrics of "We'll Meet Again" as well as Lynn herself. *

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

mention the song in " Mr. Churchill Says", on ''

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) ''Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)'', often referred to simply as ''Arthur'', is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Kinks, released on 10 October 1969. It was the first Kinks album to feature bassist Jo ...

'' (1969).

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

* * * (with Novachord) * (with Roland Shaw & His Orchestra; and Sailors, Soldiers & Airmen of Her Majesty's Forces) {{Authority control 1939 songs British patriotic songs Katherine Jenkins songs Pop ballads Quotations from music Songs about parting Songs of World War II Songs written by Ross Parker (songwriter) Vera Lynn songs 1939 quotations