“Vera, Vera, What Has Become of You?” — Pink Floyd
In 1980 or thereabouts, the hottest thing of which I was aware was the English rock bank Pink Floyd’s double album The Wall. Some of the lyrics were disturbing, if not repugnant (“We don’t need no education.”). At least one song was superb (“Comfortably Numb”). And then there was this track, which I found puzzling.
Who was Vera Lynn? As a young American of the pre-internet era, I had no idea. A friend said, “Oh, it’s like some girl he knew in high school.” That seemed as an good an explanation as any.
By now, the actual story is readily available even on this side of the Atlantic. As an infant, Roger Waters, the principal lyricist of Pink Floyd, lost his father — a conscientious objector who felt compelled to change his mind and volunteer — in the Battle of Anzio. The Vera Lynn to whom Waters referred was the British singer most closely identified with the Second World War. She boosted morale by singing, “There’ll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover,” and — most famously — “Don’t know where. Don’t know when. But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day….” I had actually heard the latter song without making the connection to Pink Floyd. It was used to memorial effect for the conclusion of the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
But let’s return to Pink Floyd’s question. The answer is improbable. Vera Lynn — who was born in London Borough of Newham on March 20, 1917 —