‘When The Lights Go On Again (All Over The World)’ Hits the Charts

On this day 70 years ago, RCA-Victor recording artists Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra hit the charts with the song ‘When The Lights Go On Again (All Over The World).’  A poignant ballad expressing hope and longing for a return to peacetime normalcy, the song debuted on the Billboard charts at #5 and would climb all the way to #2, before stalling just short of the top slot courtesy of Bing Crosby’s unstoppable ‘White Christmas.’  An enduring classic of the period, ‘When The Lights Go On Again’ is also memorable for the explicit reference made in its opening verse to the conflict raging worldwide.

When the lights go on again all over the world

And the boys are home again all over the world

And rain or snow is all that may fall from the skies above

A kiss won’t mean “Goodbye” but “Hello to love”

Click below to hear the original 1942 recording of ‘When The Lights Go On Again (All Over The World.’

This post by Collin Makamson, Red Ball Express Coordinator at The National WW2 Museum