10 year old Chloe Hickinbottom sings Vera Lynn's "White Cliffs of Dover". Chloe said that while her friends all like modern pop music, she is drawn to older songs.
93 year old Dame Vera Lynn insists that Chloe is too young to understand the lyrics and she shouldn't be singing this WWII song, but I think Dame Lynn is wrong. It was so moving to see this little flower of England singing about the days when Britain was alive and well even under fire - like, there are still these lovely little signs of life in a dying nation. Moved me to tears watching this child sing. Such an unusual voice, too :O)
And here, a more modern voice from a 14 year old. Very polished performance, even though she is also just this cute little awkward shy teenager ;O)
Vera Lynn is wrong. Her day is fading, and another generation has picked up the torch of English pride and resolve. Well done, Chloe!
ReplyDeleteMW, Olivia took my breath away. What a sweet voice!
Wow.
ReplyDeleteSorry to get all completely flakey on everyone, but I've seldom seen a more compelling public demonstration of the Collective Unconscious that Carl Jung wrote about.
There is still a Britain, because Chloe hit it like a hammer, and it rang like a bell.
I concur, Vera Lynn is wrong - Chloe doesn't need to understand the lyrics - she intuits the essence of the song brilliantly and transmits it with perfect fidelity.
The proof is the audience reaction - there was something in that initial mass exclamation which was quite, quite beyond a simple "OMG! little girl can sing". That was the sound of people, having forgotten themselves, being reminded, and recognizing themselves.
Or, maybe I'm just a flake. Could be!
Lewy, you're right. The stunned gasp from the audience wasn't because of her singing ability; it was the song itself, and the fact that the torch was being held high by a child.
ReplyDeleteThe English spirit lives.
What y'all said :O)
ReplyDeleteI still can't listen to her song without tears coming into my eyes. Heard it like 10 times, too.
Lewy...guess we're both flakes, then.
ReplyDeleteAs she sang I recalled my relatives in England who survived the war and kept in touch with my family during the war. All I have left of those family now are the steak knives I use in our home, a bone handled set of Fry & Wigfull, Ltd, Sheffield, England, table knives. They are still as good as the day my mother received them.