THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER
VERA LYNN
SONGWRITERS: NAT
BURTON & WALTER KENT
COUNTRY: U. K.
ALBUM: THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER
LABEL: DECCA RECORDS
GENRE: JAZZ
YEAR: 1962
Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (née Welch; 20 March
1917–18 June 2020) was an English singer, songwriter and entertainer whose
musical recordings and performances were very popular during the Second World War. She was
widely referred to as the "Forces' Sweetheart"
and gave outdoor concerts for the troops in Egypt,
India and Burma during the war as part of Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). The songs most associated with her are "We'll Meet
Again", "(There'll Be
Bluebirds Over) 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 United
Kingdom and the United States, 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 the age of 92, she became the oldest living artist to top the UK Albums Chart with the compilation album We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn.
In 2014, she released the collection Vera Lynn: National Treasure and in 2017,
she released Vera Lynn 100, a
compilation album of hits to commemorate her centenary—it was a No. 3 hit,
making her the first centenarian performer to have a Top 10 album in the
charts. By the time of her death in 2020 she had been active in the music
industry for 96 years.
Lynn
devoted much time and energy to charity work connected with ex-servicemen, disabled
children and breast cancer. She was held in great affection
by Second World War veterans and in 2000 was named the Briton who best
exemplified the spirit of the 20th century.
"(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White
Cliffs of Dover" is a popular World War II
song composed in 1941 by Walter Kent to
lyrics by Nat Burton. Made famous in Vera Lynn's
1942 version, it was one of Lynn's best-known recordings and among the most
popular World War II tunes.
The song was written about a year after the Royal Air Force and German Luftwaffe aircraft
had been fighting over southern England, including the white cliffs
of Dover, in the Battle of Britain.
Nazi Germany had
conquered much of Europe and in 1941 was still bombing Britain. With
neither America nor the Soviet Union having yet joined the war, Britain was the
only major power fighting the Axis powers in Europe (see The Darkest Hour).
The American lyricist, Nat Burton, wrote his lyric (unaware that the bluebird is not
indigenous to Britain) and asked Kent to set it to music. Notable phrases
include "Thumbs Up!" which was an RAF and RCAF term for permission to
go, and "flying in those angry skies" where the air war was taking
place.
The
lyrics looked toward a time when the war would be over, and peace would rule
over the iconic white cliffs, Britain's symbolic border with the European
mainland.
There'll be blue
birds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow
Just you wait and see
I'll never forget the
people I met
Braving those angry skies
I remember well as the shadows fell
The light of hope in their eyes
And though I'm far Away
I still can hear them say
Bombs up
But when the dawn comes up
There'll be blue
birds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow
Just you wait and see
There'll be love and
laughter
And peace ever after
Tomorrow
When the world is free
The shepherd will
tend his sheep
The valley will bloom again
And Jimmy will go to sleep
In his own little room again
There'll be blue
birds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow
Just you wait and see
There'll be blue
birds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow
Just you wait and see.
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