When the Lights Go On Again

England in World War 2 was a scary place.  Relentless Nazi air raids, the bombing of London was the grim reality that led to the blackout restrictions.  By order of the government, windows had to be darkened so that the city could not be visually targeted from the air. 

Cheering them on to bravery and self-sacrifice was Vera Lynn.  British soldiers were all in love with Vera.  They won the war for her.  In her songs, she was their mother, she was their daughter, she was the girl they left behind, and sometimes she was even the fantasy lover they would meet and marry when they came back home.  She felt their pain, and every British soldier fought and sometimes died to win the war for Vera.   She entertained the troops abroad, she staged radio broadcasts from home, she recorded phonograph records for their jukeboxes.

"When the Lights Go On Again" was one of Vera's songs. Others you may have heard of, recorded with a chorus of soldiers and sailors singing with her:  "We'll Meet Again",  "Auf Wiedersehen, Sweetheart"

This week, at the age of 103, Vera Lynn is still giving us a message of hope.  In an interview with a London magazine this week, she said "In these uncertain times, I am taken back to my time during World War II, when we pulled together and looked after each other.  It is this spirit that we all need to find again to weather the storm of the corona virus."

God bless you, Vera Lynn!