Vera Lynn

在我們年紀的中國人，恐怕沒有幾個人聽過她的歌，我也是其中之一。認識她，是通過英國樂隊Pink floyd那張經(jīng)典專輯《The Wall》。Pink floyd在《Vrea》中深情地唱道：Vera/這兒是否有人還記得/記得她曾經(jīng)說過/我們會在某個陽光燦爛的日子里重逢。這歌詞如此得溫柔，讓我不禁產(chǎn)生了好奇，也因此認識了這位有著傳奇色彩的爵士歌手Vera Lynn。 Vera Lynn原名薇拉·瑪格麗特·韋爾奇，1917年3月20日出生于倫敦東漢姆地區(qū)。1935 年，18歲的Vera Lynn開始在電臺演出，后來，她開始錄制和發(fā)行唱片，她的第一張獨唱唱片發(fā)表于1936年，翻譯這張唱片名字還真難，如果按照字面的意思就是《爬上貝德福德郡的伍德山》。在為生計奔波的十多年里，身處小俱樂部擔任歌手的Vera Lynn籍籍無名，但不久后隨著希特勒為整個歐洲帶來的戰(zhàn)爭的陰影，Vera Lynn的命運也隨之發(fā)生了改變。 1939 年，Vera Lynn遇見了后來的丈夫，單簧管手和薩克斯演奏者哈利·李維斯。也就是在這一年，二戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)。Vera Lynn開始在英國廣播公司主持自己的電臺節(jié)目，叫做《Sincerely Yours（你忠誠的）》，這也是英語中用以寫信結(jié)尾的固定用詞，這在“家書抵萬金”的戰(zhàn)時很能引發(fā)人們的共鳴。這檔電臺節(jié)目就是為了給在海外的英國士兵傳遞信息，在節(jié)目里，她經(jīng)常會朗讀妻子寫給遠赴前線的丈夫的信，被視為士兵與妻子溝通感情的橋梁。Vera Lynn還去探訪醫(yī)院，采訪母親和妻子們，并將她們的話通過電臺電波傳遞到海外的英國軍營。 1942年，Vera Lynn推出了《We'll Meet Again（我們會再相逢）》，同時也出演了同名電影。“我們會再相逢，不知道在哪里，不知道在何時，但我知道，我們一定會再相逢，在某個陽光燦爛的日子……”這首歌憑借充滿鄉(xiāng)愁的歌詞一時間風靡整個戰(zhàn)區(qū)，成為戰(zhàn)爭期間的標志性歌曲。而一首《多佛的白巖壁》最為鼓舞人心，因為當時這片海邊巖壁正處在德軍炸彈的陰影中，時刻面臨被敵人侵占的危險。她因此被稱為“戰(zhàn)地甜心”。 在二戰(zhàn)期間，她曾在埃及、印度、緬甸等國家為英軍軍營舉辦小型的戶外演唱會，相當于現(xiàn)在的歌友會，深受戰(zhàn)士們的喜愛。戰(zhàn)地的條件非常艱苦，很少有人愿意去那里慰問士兵，所以Vera Lynn的戰(zhàn)地行更使她成為士兵們心中當之無愧的偶像。 和現(xiàn)在一堆在歌壇上飄浮著看似星光耀眼的歌手相比，她有著太多太多讓人敬仰的地方：她在二戰(zhàn)期間多次不顧自己的生命危險上前線勞軍，用歌聲控訴戰(zhàn)爭的罪惡；她曾因為在社會上的影響力被英女王封為女爵士；邱吉爾曾說vera lynn無論從哪個方面來說都相當于4個陸軍師的力量........她的聲音鼓舞著同盟軍的戰(zhàn)士們奮勇向前，被譽為The Forces' Sweetheart(部隊的心上人) 。無法想像她嬌柔的身軀里蘊藏著如此巨大的能量。
 
by John Bush & Bruce Eder
 
The mere mention of Vera Lynn's name evokes images of London skies filled with barrage balloons, and Britons riding out the German blitz in shelters and subway stations. England's sweetheart during the trying times of World War II, Lynn was still in her twenties when she took on that role. She was born Vera Margaret Welch in London's East Ham, to Bertram and Annie Welch, one year before the close of the First World War. She began singing as a girl of seven, also studying dance as a child. She later took her maternal grandmother's maiden name as her stage name, and her natural, unaffected vocal style and charm brought Lynn early success on the radio. At age 18, she was singing with Joe Loss' orchestra, and she'd also begun recording. By the end of the 1930s, after stints working for Charlie Kunz's and Bert Ambrose's bands, Lynn got her own radio series. This event coincided with the end of what was known as the &Phony War,& that period in which men were being conscripted and sent overseas, rearmament rushed, and nightly blackouts imposed, but no shots fired or bombs dropped. The shooting war started in 1940, and it was around that same time that Lynn became the host of the BBC radio program Sincerely Yours; the show became incredibly popular with overseas servicemen who missed their girlfriends, and her regular songs included such hopeful/heartsick ballads as &White Cliffs of Dover,& &We'll Meet Again,& &Wishing,& and &Yours,& which were taken to heart by the British public. Her recordings -- now done for Decca Records, which had absorbed the Crown label some years before -- all sold well, and Lynn also made several films during the war years, appeared in a stage revue, and sang for troops in Asia. Her sentimental brand of pop music was regarded as a huge help to morale, and Lynn herself virtually a national treasure.
 
Within just a few months of the end of the Second World War, Lynn surprised and shocked the public by announcing her retirement. As early as Christmas of 1946 she'd begun a limited return to recording, however, and by the end of 1947 she was working again, touring the variety circuit and gaining another BBC radio program. Decca seized a golden opportunity in 1948 by releasing Vera Lynn material in America during a musicians strike that had crippled the stateside music industry, and Lynn gained a Top Ten hit that year with &You Can't Be True, Dear.& And in 1952, she became the first British artist to hit number one on the American charts when &Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart& spent nine weeks at the top spot. That same year, Lynn managed an astonishing hat trick back home with the advent of the first singles chart for England -- unveiled in New Musical Express in November of that year -- when her records occupied three of the top 12 positions. Her first (and only) British number one came two years later, with &My Son My Son,& and she gradually moved from radio/variety work to television spots during the '50s in order to round out her schedule, recording increasingly contemporary material during the 1960s -- when she left Decca for EMI -- and '70s. She received an OBE from the British crown in 1969, and in 1975 was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire. Though she performed sparingly during the 1980s, she did appear at commemorations for the 40th anniversary of D-Day and the 50th anniversary of the beginning of World War II, and continued to do charity work. In 2005, she also spoke on behalf of veterans of World War II on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of VE Day.