We'll Meet Again

For other uses, see We'll Meet Again (disambiguation).

"We'll Meet Again"
Sheet music cover
Song by Vera Lynn
Released	1939
Label	Michael Ross Limited
Songwriter(s)	Ross Parker, Hughie Charles
Producer(s)	Norman Keen

"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, and resonated with soldiers going off to fight as well as their families and loved ones.

The song was published by Michael Ross Limited, whose directors included Louis Carris, Ross Parker and Norman Keen. Keen, an English pianist also collaborated with Parker and Hughie Charles on "We'll Meet Again" and 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 Novachord (an early synthesizer), while a rerecording in 1953 featured a more lavish instrumentation and a chorus of British Armed Forces personnel.

The song gave its name to the 1943 musical film We'll Meet Again in which Lynn played the lead role (see 1943 in music). Lynn's 1953 recording is featured in the final scene of Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film Dr. Strangelove – with a bitter irony, as the song accompanies a nuclear holocaust that wipes out humanity. It was also used in the closing scenes of the 1986 BBC television serial The Singing Detective. British director John Schlesinger used the song in his 1979 World War II film Yanks, which is about British citizens and American soldiers during the military buildup in the UK as the Allies prepare for the Normandy landings.

During the Cold War, 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. The song reached number 29 on the U.S. charts. Lynn sang the song in London on the 60th anniversary of VE Day in 2005.

In April 2020, a charity duet with Katherine Jenkins, released in 2014, reached number 72 on the UK Singles Chart, with proceeds going to National Health Service 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.

Cultural impact

• The song has been credited as one of the first to make use of the Hammond Novachord, the first polyphonic synthesizer
• Traditionally, this song is played on 5 May as a closure to the Liberation Day Concert in Amsterdam, to mark the end of World War II in the Netherlands, as the monarch leaves the concert on a canal boat.
• On 5 April 2020, Queen Elizabeth II 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 virus and acknowledged the severe challenges being faced by families across the world. The reference spurred covers by West End theatre stars with Lynn, Katherine Jenkins with Lynn, and by drag queens. Jenkins' version was released on iTunes as a benefit for the NHS Charities Together.

Un-noteworthy Appearances in film and other media

following is a list of appearances the song has had in media, that has since been deemed un-noteworthy.

• On the final episode of The Colbert Report, the song was sung by Stephen Colbert in a more upbeat tempo with members of his family and an assembled crowd of many of his most prominent guests.
• On the final episode of Gravity Falls, Bill Cipher is seen singing the opening verse upon unfreezing Stanford Pines in the Fearamid.
• References to the song are made in the song "Vera" by Pink Floyd. The song is also named after her.
• The song was sung by Alfie Boe and Katherine Jenkins during the final performance at VE Day 70: A Party to Remember at Horse Guards Parade in London in 2015.
• On the film Kong: Skull Island, John C. Reilly's character starts singing the song to a picture of his wife whom he has not seen in decades, as he is on the way to be rescued. Vera Lynn's version then starts playing and is also featured in the soundtrack album.
• In the ending of the 1964 Stanley Kubrick flick "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb", the song is played as nuclear bombs go off.
• In the final episode to the animated series "Freakazoid!", "Normadeus", the episode ends with the entire cast coming out in a group rendition of the song.
• The song can be heard during the end credits of The futurama episode "A Big Piece of Garbage" from season 1 of the show. Some say this is a reference to the ending of Dr. Strangelove.
• In episode 4 of the third season of the Netflix original series "Stranger Things" this song can be heard in the final moments of the episode over some dialogue and as the credits roll.
• During the beginning of episode 1 season 5 of "Gotham", "Year Zero". the song can be heard played on a record player.
• In the 2019 series "Why Women Kill" the episode ends with the song being played.
• In the trailer for the 2022 revival of Jackass, "Jackass forever" the Johnny cash version of the song is played.
• The song appears in the 2019 Robin Bissell feature debut "The best of enemies", when C. P. Ellis' kid is moved to a single room at the mental insitution in which the kid resides.
• The forsaken ending of Call of duty: Black ops Cold war Zombies mode, plays this song as a part of the ending cutscene.
• In the fifth installment of the far cry series, the protagonist aims to take down a cult-like movement spearheaded by a man named Joseph Seed. At the end of the game, if the player picks the so called "nuclear ending" a cutscene will play alongside the song.
• In the american crime/drama "Castle" season 6 episode 9 "Disciple", the song can be heard on a tape left for the series main character Castle.