I think its time for Vera Lynn to sing again. The original "forces sweetheart" from WW2 is still alive and kicking at 103. If you had parents or grandparents serving in Europe during WW2 they would know her songs if not the name.

Vera's version of The White Cliffs of Dover was a smash during the war years and was followed by numerous other hits as she sung her way into the hearts of service people on the radio and in person all over the world. Never mind that there are no bluebirds over Dover, never has been and likely never will be, it was a song for the ages when people needed hope for a better tomorrow. Can our pop world today produce anything so iconic that will be remembered long after this is all over?

John Legend, Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YapAxPfRyI


The original by Bill Withers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YapAxPfRyI


We will remember this overwhelming and challenging event in our lives in great part for the outpouring of community spirit and care and concern for others shown every day by so many, for so many, often stranger to stranger.

A time when we can support each other in these uncharted waters and unaccustomed isolation for many of us. A time when we can potentially save the lives of people we don't know and likely will never meet, through keeping abreast of the daily news to get the latest reliable updates re CV and following the advice and instructions given by noted experts, by putting our own interests on the back burner for the duration and by using common sense.

It's great to see each other here and keep in touch.

Thank you, CZ, for giving us free reign (to a considerable but likely not unlimited degree) to swing off topic more often these days. It's not every day or week or year or decade of one's life that you experience a pandemic. There is real community here at RfM that is even more apparent in the midst of a major challenge for all of us, in a myriad of ways.

Thanks, kentish, for the great idea of helping us get through it with the power of music and inevitably, to reminisce and evaluate our lives, plans, futures, and renew our focus on what is most important to us. It's easy and fun and heartwarming to do that through our favourite songs and most memorable music.

Oh; I thought this thread is about the woman British detective I see on PBS / 9 Seattle...

Another great British icon. Perhaps she can solve the crisis and find the original culprit. Vera Lynn is properly Dame Vera Lynn, something that might be in the cards for Brenda Blethyn (twice nominated for an Academy Award) at some point. Dame title is the female equivalent of a Sir.

What a Dame!!

I love that show. I have a fondness for British mysteries, and that is one of the best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA5kmb3rBiM


Happy Easter, kentish.

Have seen these. Thanks for the reminders and the good wishes.

From Pink Floyd:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-ecL2DGszc

The WWII generation is fading away, but they were amazing. I always used to ask them to share their stories of the war years, and I heard so many interesting things. When I worked in NYC many years ago, one mild-mannered salesman told me about how he fought in North Africa. An older Japanese-American told me about how the war had separated his family -- some in Japan, and some here, in the camps.

My father was in the 8th Army facing the Afrika Corps in North Africa when Vera Lynn at 19 yrs sang to the troops. The enemy started shelling to break up the concert, but she kept singing through the shelling. After the war when a Vera Lynn song was played on the radio, we all had to stop what we were doing and listen.

In the 60's she had her own TV show on the BBC. I heard her interviewed about 5 years ago where she told of working in a field hospital in Burma during the war, applying penicillin in a yellow paste on soldiers wounds.

Whew. I thought you meant Brenda Blethyn. I'm pretty sure she doesn't sing.

kentish said: "...a song for the ages when people needed hope for a better tomorrow."

A better tomorrow is what we can all hope for in this day too (and every age). Every generation seems to have its war, famine and pestilence. (What some would call biblical, in fact).

I read an article today from the CBC (Canada) about Queen Elizabeth's Easter message (yes, I am a little late to it). She addressed the Covid crisis. They had erected a billboard with a message from her:

"We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again."

The Queen and Prince Philip are at Windsor Castle, away from all their family due to isolation precautions. The Queen made a video from there in which she mentioned her own experiences in WWII. In one speech she gave, as a child herself, to children who had been evacuated to safer areas, she had offered commiseration and encouragement. In her Easter speech this year, she likened today's Covid-related distancing to the "painful sense of separation from loved ones" many felt during the war. She was optimistic about the outcome and invoked Vera Lynn's wartime encouragement that "we'll meet again".

A commentator summed up the Queen's message as indicating the need for "accepting changes to [our] daily lives and each doing [our] part to overcome a threat to everyone's safety and security".

"We'll meet again". Three little words. So lyrical. Hopeful. Loving. Inspirational.

I thought of your post, kentish, when I read the Queen's message. Thank you for the reminder that optimism can provide strength, music can inspire and words matter.

Also, that we're all in this together. My actions can save others, even strangers I will never meet. Adversity so often brings out the very best of humanity.

And now I'm going to spend my Sunday afternoon listening to music. I'm trying to compile a list of my 5 favourite songs. So much music, so little time...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2020 05:41PM by Nightingale.

I particularly liked her line (a motto for the time)"united and resolute". I like that little used word resolute.

Music certainly has a way of playing on the senses. There are pieces I turn to when in various moods. For instance it has been more than 50 years since I left England and despite frequent visits back (six weeks there this year) I still get bouts of home sickness, sometimes brought on by the silliest thing. In those times Elgar's Nimrod can either boost the maudlin sentimentality or inspire the memory of the wonderful country that is my heritage. To me, no piece puts the essence of England to music for me. What a dull life it would be without music.

https://youtu.be/Vvgl_2JRIUs



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2020 10:48PM by elderolddog.

Love some of the jingoist humor below the video. My favorite wag says: Remember, people, no matter how bad things get in Britain, at least we are not French.

I am familiar with both videos from Last Night of the Proms, a virtual institution for many years. There are some in England who would make Land of Hope and Glory the English national anthem, using God Save the Queen only when she is present. Nimrod does it for me, though. If you saw the movie Dunkirk, a variation of it was used. Beautiful as a backdrop of the Spitfire cruising to a beach landing when its fuel ran out.

World War 2 is about the only thing that helps maintain English hegemony over the Celtic nations. It's the reason why the state broadcaster repeats Dad's Army and Allo Allo on an endless loop.