“I don’t believe there is another song that has been so exploited for propaganda purposes – or captured the emotions of everyone involved in a conflict.” CLIVE WILLIAMS reveals the story behind the most famous song of World War II. 

ANYONE of a certain age no doubt has been frequently asked: “What was the most famous song of World War II?” 

For post-Boomers and those who came in late, World War II was the global conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945 (or for Americans 1941 and 1945).

Many might have suggested one of Vera Lynn’s songs, but in fact the most famous song of the war was without doubt “Lili Marlene”.

The original lyrics were based on a poem written during World War I by German soldier Hans Leip. The poem was originally titled “Das Mädchen unter der Laterne” (“The Girl under the Lantern”). 

In the poem, Leip combined the name of his sweetheart at home (Lili) with that of his wartime sweetheart (nurse Marlene).

In 1937, it was put to music and sung by the German chanteuse Lale Andersen but only sold 700 copies. In 1938, German film music composer Norbert Schultze re-recorded the song and gave it the title “Lili Marlene”.

In 1941, a soldier working for the German forces radio station in occupied Belgrade was sent to Vienna to find suitable records to broadcast to Gen Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps. And, you guessed it, one of the records he brought back from Vienna was “Lili Marlene”.

The German forces radio station in Belgrade first played it on August 18, 1941. It was an instant hit with Rommel’s men, and for the next three years Soldatensender Belgrad played it almost every night at 9.57 pm. It then became a huge hit throughout Nazi-occupied Europe.

At the same time, “Lili Marlene” became popular with Eighth Army soldiers in the North African desert who also listened to the music from Belgrade. The Eighth Army was made up of seven British divisions and four Commonwealth divisions, including the 4th and 5th Indian Divisions, 9th Australian Division and New Zealand Division.

When its popularity with the Eighth Army became known to German propagandists, they had British traitor Norman Baillie-Stewart write English lyrics for the song, and it was re-recorded by Lale Andersen for beaming to the Eighth Army. 

The Orwellian British Ministry of Information was so concerned about its potentially subversive effect on British morale that it commissioned British lyricist Tommie Connor to write a different set of English lyrics for the song. Anne Shelton recorded Connor’s version and it became a huge hit, including in Australia.

Connor’s version retained the core sentiments of love and yearning amid the trials of war but reworded the lyrics to suit an English-speaking audience and better reflect the experiences of British and allied soldiers.

In 1944, German Hollywood actress and staunch anti-Nazi Marlene Dietrich recorded another version in her native language that was designed to demoralise German soldiers. 

She became synonymous with the song, performing it many times over the following years.

I don’t believe there is another song that has been so exploited for propaganda purposes – or captured the emotions of everyone involved in a conflict. Certainly nothing to compare to “Lili Marlene” – the haunting nostalgic song that appealed to both sides.

For those who might be interested, here are the lyrics sung by Anne Shelton with a link to the song:

Underneath the lantern, by the barrack gate,

Darling I remember the way you used to wait.

‘Twas there that you whispered tenderly,

That you loved me, You’d always be,

My Lili of the lamplight, My own Lili Marlene.

Time would come for roll call, Time for us to part,

Darling I’d caress you and press you to my heart,

And there ‘neath that far off lantern light,

I’d hold you tight, We’d kiss good-night,

My Lili of the lamplight, My own Lili Marlene.

Orders came for sailing somewhere over there,

All confined to barracks was more than I could bear;

I knew you were waiting in the street,

I heard your feet, But could not meet,

My Lili of the lamplight, My own Lili Marlene.

Resting in a billet, just behind the line,

Even tho’ we’re parted, your lips are close to mine.

You wait where that lantern softly gleams.

Your sweet face seems to haunt my dreams.

My Lili of the lamplight, My own Lili Marlene.

It’s at secondhandsongs.com/performance/278448

Clive Williams is a Canberra columnist