"J'attendrai" is a French song, the French version of the Italian song "Tornerai", with music by Dino Olivieri and Italian lyrics by Nino Rastelli. The Italian song was written in 1936 and is said to be inspired by the Humming Chorus from Puccini's Madama Butterfly. The French lyrics are by Louis Poterat. Trio Lescano and Carlo Buti recorded the Italian version in 1937, and Rina Ketty first recorded the French version in 1938 on a Pathé single. Tino Rossi and Jean Sablon recorded it in 1939, and Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli made instrumental versions in 1938.
After France was occupied in 1940, the song became a major French war song and one of the peace anthems of the Second World War, often compared to "Lili Marlen" and "We'll Meet Again". Dalida's disco version from 1975, released as a single in 1976, is described as a first French disco hit. Later versions include Bing Crosby and Hildegarde's English-language "I'll Be Yours" (1945), Raffaella Carrà's "Tornerai" (1976) and treatments in the Gypsy jazz style.
