We'll Meet Again

"We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song made famous by British singer Vera Lynn with music and lyrics composed and written by Ross Parker (born Albert Rostron Parker, 16 August 1914 in Manchester) & Hugh Charles (born Charles Hugh Owen Ferry, 24 July 1907 in Reddish, Stockport, Cheshire).

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 (see 1943 in music). Lynn's recording is featured in the final scene of Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film Dr. Strangelove, 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. Mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins reprised the song at her appearance alongside Lynn in London on the 60th Anniversary of VE Day in 2005, and has retained it as an occasional item in her repertoire.