Vera Lynn - There'll Always Be An England - 1994

Dame Vera Margaret Lynn CH DBE OStJ (née Welch; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during the Second World War. She is honorifically known as the "Forces' Sweetheart", having given outdoor concerts for the troops in Egypt, India and Burma during the war as part of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). The songs most associated with her include "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.

I give you a toast, ladies and gentlemen
I give you a toast, ladies and gentlemen
May this fair land we love so well
In dignity and freedom dwell
Though worlds may change and go awry
While there is still one voice to cry
There'll always be an England
While there's a country lane
Wherever there's a cottage small
Beside a field of grain
There'll always be an England
While there's a busy street
Wherever there's a turning wheel
A million marching feet
Red, white and blue
What does it mean to you?
Surely you're proud, shout it aloud
Britons, awake
The empire too, we can depend on you
Freedom remains
These are the chains
Nothing can break
There'll always be an England
And England shall be free
If England means as much to you
As England means to me
Red, white and blue
What does it mean to you?
Surely you're proud, shout it aloud
Britons, awake
The empire too, we can depend on you
Freedom remains
These are the chains
Nothing can break
There'll always be an England
And England shall be free
If England means as much to you
As England means to me

Songwriters: Ross Parker / Hugh Charles / Alan Mossford