We Shall Fight on the Beaches
The historically brave words of the great oration of Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the United Kingdom in response to the heroic British and French resistance against the attack of the Nazi Third Reich are worth learning.
Perhaps a short song will make simple the task of memorizing these words of fortitude and determination.
Music © 2026 by Ellen Richardine Evans, MD, PLLC. All rights reserved.
Right Click on the play arrow at the left to find the menu where you can select “Loop” to turn on or off the choice to play over and over for ease of learning and memorization.
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.1
This great speech of Prime Minister Winston Churchill encouraged a generation and challenged citizens of the world from the lone island of Great Britain that included England, Wales, and Scotland. Interestingly, the newly independent island of Ireland remained officially neutral in World War II. Even so, its people favored the Allies as nearly 100,000 Irish citizens joined the British military defense. This fine example of Mr. Churchill’s oratory excellence is meted to the crisis of that tenuous time. Churchill’s Fight speech is both historically significant and mentally clever. In today’s world some would choose to re-write history. Individual attention to reading, studying, and memorizing the writings, recordings, and oratories of the world war fought by those of the “greatest generation” helps us understand how desperate the circumstances and how vicious the aggressors.
At this link, you can hear the entire recorded speech spoken by Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself.
Click below to listen to Winston Churchill’s Speech Delivered to the House of Commons on 6/4/1940.1 Note that the recording starts with the 5th paragraph of the printed speech at that website and with other portions skipped.
- Excerpted from transcript of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s We Shall Fight on the Beaches Speech, 1940June04. Entire Speech Recorded 1940June04 Retrieved 2026June16 by ERE. ↩︎