Many years ago, I traveled to London with my dear friend Jeannie. We took several tours, one of which was to Stonehenge. We excitedly hopped off the bus, ran through the entrance tunnel, out to Stonehenge. My first thought while standing behind the barrier was that it was much smaller than I had imagined; however, I kept my own counsel. Alas, a man standing next to us did not and blurted out, “it’s just a pile of rocks.” From that moment on, we rated everything we saw on tours as either diamonds or a pile of rocks.
The tour to which we were most looking forward was the White Cliffs of Dover. This tour also included Leeds Castle, which was interesting, sure, but onward, onward, to the cliffs! As we arrived at our destination at the bottom of the cliffs, Jeannie wondered aloud what they would be, diamonds or a pile of rocks. I said, “well, we shall soon see.” Our tour brought us to the beach facing the coastline. Looking back, I suppose we were taken to the easiest access point as opposed to the best view
Over the years I have often thought of this song, that bus driver and the message that he wanted to impart. He was successful; we got the message loud and clear. The cliffs are much more than a tourist attraction: they are an icon that said to the world, “we will get through this.” It still brings tears to my eyes when I realize that the Greatest Generation possessed something then that seems now to be in short supply: Hope. There’ll be love and laughter and peace ever after, tomorrow, when the world is free. The words of this song say it all. The English had no doubt that their military would safeguard their land against German invasion. And they did, along with the allied forces.
The more I thought about the song and what it meant to war torn England, the more I wanted to discover what made this song so poignant, so I researched its background. Ironically, I discovered that this song was written by two Americans, one of whom had never even been to England. Walter Kent composed the melody, reminiscent of Over the Rainbow, for the lyrics of Nat Burton, which he had based on a 1940 poem by Alice Duer Miller, also an American. The song was written in 1941 and was performed by American swing bands, including Glenn Miller, and singers, including Jimmy Dorsey. It became a huge sensation only after the sweetheart of the British armed forces Vera Lynn sang it in 1942. That Ms. Lynn’s version was also a big hit in the States is testament to the understanding between our nations that is achieved by “serving in the trenches” together. We are one another’s closest allies.
Alice Duer Miller’s poem, entitled The White Cliffs, is about a wealthy, young American girl traveling in England, who meets and marries an English lad only to lose him in the Great War shortly thereafter. The emotional impact of this poem at first made me think it was autobiographical, but it is not. It is an exceedingly long poem chronicling the heroine’s journey through married life, subsequent life as a widow raising a son alone and, finally, wondering if he, too, would be lost to the next looming war. It is likely the sentiments expressed in the first section that inspired Burton’s lyrics. Her words follow:
