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"When the Lights Go On Again (All Over the World)" is a popular song composed during World War II. It was written by Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus and Eddie Seiler.〔http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:5030195 〕 The first recording by Vaughn Monroe reached number one on the charts in 1943. 〔“Big Band Library: Vaughn Monroe ‘There, I’ve Said It Again.’” Accessed September 16, 2015. http://www.bigbandlibrary.com/vaughnmonroe.html. 〕 The song expresses the hopes for an end to the war. The title is from the refrain found throughout the song as is found in the first verse: : When the lights go on again all over the world : And the boys are home again all over the world : And rain or snow is all that may fall from the skies above : A kiss won't mean "Goodbye" but "Hello to love" 〔“Vera Lynn - When The Lights Go On Again Lyrics | MetroLyrics.” Accessed September 18, 2015. http://www.metrolyrics.com/when-the-lights-go-on-again-lyrics-vera-lynn.html. 〕 The reference to "lights going on again" alludes to the remark "''The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our life-time''", attributed to British statesman Sir Edward Grey on the eve of the First World War. 〔“Life, Journalism and Politics.” Accessed September 18, 2015. http://www.archive.org/stream/lifejournalismpo02jasprich#page/14/mode/2up.〕 The title of the song may also refer to the longed-for end to the blackout restrictions imposed in London and elsewhere during the Second World War. Lucky Millinder's version reached number twelve on the pop charts and reached number one on the R&B charts for two non consecutive weeks. == Background == Music was a large part of culture during World War II. During the war, music served as a uniting factor among people around the world; “When the Lights Go On Again” was one of the songs that helped keep up the spirits of those who were struggling. Famous singer Vera Lynn was best known for her music during the war, including popular songs such as “Lili Marlene” and “Yours.” She “will always be remembered by all who endured the Hell of Hitler’s Blitz, she will always be remembered by the troops.” 〔Brooke, Roydon. Music and Movies :a Book for Every Music Lover and Cinemagoer /. Friend, Nebr. :, n.d. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015033737449.〕 Music has long been used to fight conflict and to help further the resolution of conflicts, as well as to fuel the fires of anger in some situations. 〔Music and Conflict. University of Illinois Press, 2010. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt1x74rt. 〕 In the case of “When the Lights Go On Again,” the song was written to give people a sense of hope and calm. Most agree that the lyrics were inspired heavily by the London blackout, which were imposed to combat the bombing raids by the Germans, called the Blitz, which lasted from September 1940 to May 1941. The blackouts lasted through to the end of the war. 〔“To Hide From WWII Bombs, London Goes Dark.” Mashable. Accessed September 29, 2015. http://mashable.com/2014/10/13/to-hide-from-wwii-bombs-london-goes-dark/.〕 It was a bleak time for Londoners and the rest of the British people, as it wasn’t only London that fell under attack during the Blitz. Any city in Britain could be bombed at any time, resulting in a general sense of fear throughout the nation. It was an incredibly anxious time, as Osbert Lancaster says in his book All Done from Memory: “During the “blitz” so long as I remained indoors I was ceaselessly assaulted by what psychiatrists so unfeelingly describe as “irrational fears,” but on escape into the wide open spaces they were promptly transformed by the patter of shrapnel into anxieties to which my reason accorded every justification.” 〔Bell, Amy. “Landscapes of Fear: Wartime London, 1939-1945.” Journal of British Studies 48, no. 1 (January 1, 2009): 153–75. 〕 This war was called “The People’s War” for a reason – it was brought directly to the people of Britain, forcing them to flee the city or face a city of fear. 〔Bell, Amy. “Landscapes of Fear: Wartime London, 1939-1945.” Journal of British Studies 48, no. 1 (January 1, 2009): 153–75.〕 Because of all the anxiety and fear caused during this time, the people needed an outlet, and that outlet came often in the form of hopeful songs. “When the Lights Go On Again” speaks of what the world will be like after the war, something that would seem far away at the time to people who were undergoing the stresses of being under attack. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「When the Lights Go On Again」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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