Vera ballad is proof people need a sentimental touch

It's been 80 years, but wartime ballad We'll Meet Again still manages to bring us comfort, writes Clare V. Church.

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More than 85 years after its release, We'll Meet Again - made famous by singer Vera Lynn - continues to resonate with listeners, whether they experienced the second world war or not.

In fact, as we head into the 80th anniversary of the war's end, it is one song that is sure to be at the top of all British commemorative playlists.

But why is it that, after all these years, we continue to meet We'll Meet Again again, and again and again?

Written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles, We'll Meet Again was first recoded by Lynn in 1939. Its chorus is as follows:

We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I'll know we'll meet again some sunny day.

Keep smiling through, just like you, always do, 'til the blue skies chase those dark clouds far away.

In the early war, Lynn performed the songas well as other wistful tunes - at palladiums across the country and over the radio. She gained a reputation as a "sweet singer of sweet songs" and was soon after bestowed the moniker "the Forces' sweetheart".