Vera Lynn heard this German tune from the beer parlors of Switzerland and felt an urge to record this in English. Its original form was written by German composer Eberhard Storch in 1949 for his wife by his hospital bed.

Translated from German, “Auf wiedersehen” means “we’ll meet again” or “farewell.” Lynn successfully captured the reminiscence of war efforts and soldiers leaving their homes by recording the song with the Soldiers & Airmen of HM Forces, and sold 12 million copies of this single worldwide. Incidentally, Lynn became the first foreign artist to top the singles chart in America.