It’s a Remembrance song suitable for performance by a solo voice, an ensemble or a choir.

You Will Remember started life as a song for Yew Tree Youth Theatre in West Yorkshire. They were performing at the Miners’ Memorial Service in Doncaster and the lyrics were taken from their play written by Gemma Whelan. It then transformed slightly and became part of Yew Tree Youth Music’s “Something Special” performance at St. George’s Church and Community Centre in Lupset, Wakefield.

Now, I have altered the lyrics slightly again to make it appropriate for Remembrance Day, one verse inspired by my maternal grandfather who went to Libya in WW2 and did not come back, the other inspired by my paternal grandfather who went to WW1 and did come back after a traumatic time:

We will remember won’t we?
We will remember.
I know he’s not coming back.
They’re not coming back.
Poppies! Poppies!
So many, I can’t bear it.
The last thing he said to me: “Will you remember?”

This is my man, wherever he is,
My heart is there, always there.
There in the sand, I‘ll think of him,
Remember him, wherever he is.

These are my mates, wherever they are
My heart’s with them, always there.
I left them behind, in the sand
And in the mud, but I’ll always remember.

The images were mostly taken in November 2014 when my daily sunrise images were each of a different type of War Memorial.

The song itself is a mournful melody with the possibility of a round in the chorus (you can hear that here on the 2nd chorus). It is essentially a single line song, but there is an arrangement for ensemble, either vocal or instrumental. You can order copies of the single line song here!

Update: May 2018

Following a request from a choir planning a Remembrance Concert in November 2018 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1, I have rearranged the piece for SATB choir. Order copies of that score here!

While I was at it, I have notated the arrangement you hear on the video above and this would be suitable for a mixed ensemble of singers and instrumentalists, or for a choir of similar voices (high or low). Have a look at the ensemble arrangement here!