"You'll Never Know" (Vera Lynn, 1943)

Vera Lynn's wartime popularity with the British public provided her with "Vera Lynn's Own Orchestra", conducted by the very capable Len Edwards.

"You'll Never Know" won composer Harry Warren & lyricist Mack Gordon the Oscar for best song in '43--it was introduced by Alice Faye in "Hello Frisco".

YOU'LL NEVER KNOW

You'll never know just how much I miss you,
You'll never know just how much I care...
And if I tried, I still couldn't hide my love for you,
You ought to know, for haven't I told you so,
A million or more times?

You went away and my heart went with you,
I speak your name in my every prayer.
If there is some other way to prove that I love you
I swear I don't know how...
You'll never know if you don't know now.

You went away and my heart went with you,
I speak your name in my every prayer.
If there is some other way to prove that I love you,
I swear I don't know how...
You'll never know if you don't know now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Wiki:

"You'll Never Know" is a popular song. The music was written by Harry Warren and the lyrics by Mack Gordon, based on a poem written by a young Oklahoma war bride named Dorothy Fern Norris.

The song was featured in the 1943 movie Hello, Frisco, Hello where it is sung by Alice Faye. It was also performed by Faye in the 1944 film Four Jills in a Jeep. It was recorded in 1943 by, among others, Frank Sinatra and Dick Haymes. Haymes' version was a #1 hit on the R&B charts that year.

Sinatra recorded his version at his first recording session at Columbia as a solo artist. (He had recorded at Columbia in 1939 as a member of Harry James's band.) It was arranged and conducted by Alec Wilder with the Bobby Tucker Singers providing accompaniment. Sinatra's version charted for 16 weeks starting July 24 and spent two weeks at number 2.

***In Britain, the recording by Vera Lynn was very popular due to the ongoing Second World War.

A 1952 recording by Rosemary Clooney is also well known, as well as a version recorded in 1954 by Big Maybelle.

The Sinatra and Haymes records were made during the 1942--1944 strike against the recording companies a strike by the American Federation of Musicians. As a result, the recordings were made without musicians, with vocal groups replacing the usual instrumental backup. The group backing Haymes, The Song Spinners, was actually given credit on the records.

The song was the first song that Barbra Streisand ever recorded in 1955. It was the opening song on her 4-CD box-set Just for the Record (1991). The box-set closed with another version of the song, sung as a duet by Streisand in 1991 and herself as a girl of 13.

The song won the 1943 Academy Award for Best Original Song, one of nine nominated songs that year.

In 1961, a version by Shirley Bassey made #6 in the UK charts.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Vera
• Lynn
• Harry
• Warren
• 1943
• Mack
• Gordon
• Len
• Edwards
• Hello
• Frisco
• Alice
• Faye
• musicians'
• strike
• Dorothy
• Fern
• Norris

[4everugly]

There was so much class back then....it 's sad that its a lost thing. think I was born 60 years too late.

[Myles0Harcourt]

Beats the Lady Gaga or Justin bieber bullshit any day.

[baghend]

@R2412076B Hey Mate- Dame Vera belongs to the whole world. At least to the civilized bits of it.

And this is from a colonial, whose relatives fought and died, for you and all of us, during the war- at Dieppe.

Beautiful song, beautifully done.

Have a drink with me, and toast Dame Vera, and all those poor sods who gave everything.

-Bill in Canada

[tenodogblu]

My mum sang this song in a talent show held at Butlins, Skegness in the late 1960s. It brings back such wonderful memories to me. Whenever I visit her grave I always gently sing this to her and like now the tears well up inside me. RIP you wonderful being, I miss you everyday mum xxx

[R2412076B]

@Ginganu 1234 Vera Lynn is British, not American. Keep your American comments to yourself, they have nothing to do with people's memories of this song. As @armyoldsweat said, "Grow up!"

[armyoldsweat]

Like ginganu1234 I too believe Vera Lynn is (not was) a lady but why why is it necessary for you to use such vile terminology. Haven't your parents taught you anything laddie? For goodness sake grow up!

[ginganu1234]

Pt 2: and honestly i have to say vera lynn was a LADY if ive ever seen one before not the shit you see today, playing around and fucking screwing you at every turn. this music honestly has so much meaning, then lady gaga and all that other garbage you see nowadays

[ginganu1234]

i love this song so much...it makes me cry cause its sooo beautiful. the women back then were so pretty and actually had some kinda of standards for themselves. life back then was much more simple, but at the same time it was difficult without what we have today, but i really think america has lost it's chivalry,and it's respect.

[MrFafito100]

Remember my mum singing ths one, how i miss her lovely voice

[johnnyflames27]

Excellent. Great era my uncle listened to this music; drove a landing craft during D-day, wasn't a job he enjoyed.

[codycobourg]

beautiful, and so lovely to sing along to........reminds me of my Grandparents...

[Myles0Harcourt]

@nativeboi271

Music now is mostly a load of rubbish. Music then actually meant something and it was possible to listen to without all the horrible screeching of electric guitars and wierd synthesised sounds. Music from before around 1960 shows that just an orchestra and microphone and imagination can produce wonderful music.