Lili Marlene is a curious example of music transcending the hatreds of war. The song lyrics originated in 1915 during World War I from a poem written by Hans Leip (1893-1983), a school teacher from Hamburg who had been conscripted into the Imperial German Army. His poem expressed the anguish of separation from his sweetheart, a grocer's daughter named Lili.
The original title was "Das Mädchen unter der Laterne" (the girl under the lantern), but it became famous as Lili Marlene, due to the girl's name, which was made up by Leip by combining the names of his girlfriend and another female friend.
The poem was republished in 1937 as "Das Lied eines jungen Soldaten auf der Wacht" (The Song of a Young Soldier on Watch), but with two verses added.
Song Written by Norbert Schultze
The poem was turned to song by Norbert Schultze (1911 – 2002), a successful German composer of songs, opera and film music. Schultze read Leip's poems and in 1938 wrote a melody for the Young Sentry poem. Unfortunately, the song was rejected by several publishers.
Schultze modified the composition and Lili Marlene was eventually recorded in 1939 by a young German female singer, Lale Andersen (shown pictured above). The original song is available as a music video.
The original German lyrics of Lili Marlene are shown in Figure 1, and the English lyrics are in Figure 2.
Song that Almost Never Made It
At the outbreak of the Second World War Lili Marlene sold little. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda chief, was reported as hating the song for not being "military" enough. He wanted it changed into a stirring march. The song was banned and both Andersen and Schultze were charged with "moral sabotage" of the nation's aims.
By 1941, the Germans were broadcasting to their troops in North Africa from a radio station in Belgrade. When the station was shelled, most of its records were smashed and the station was desperately short of music to play. The station's military director came across a dusty box in which a few records had survived - and right at the bottom was Lili Marlene, so it was broadcast.
The German troops asked for the recording over and over again, and non-military people also requested it. Field Marshal Rommel didn't agree with Goebbels and asked Radio Belgrade to play the song every night. Goebbels was forced to retract and pretend that the Nazis welcomed the song. Schultze and Andersen were brought in from the cold and sent around Germany to perform the song.
Song Loved by Both Sides of the War
London publisher Jimmy Phillips chided British soldiers for singing a song in German, so the men challenged him to produce an English version. Phillips did so, in collaboration with Tommy Connor. Their translation offered words which differed from Leip's original poem. Although still plaintive, it was now a bitter-sweet song of dreaming about a distant love, rather than a mellow anti-war statement.
Lili Marlene is one of the great numbers of the 20th century. It has been recorded in many languages and by such singers as Ann Shelton, Vera Lynn, Dolores Keane, Edith Piaf and Perry Como, among many others. American troops particularly liked Lili Marlene as sung by the German-born actress and singer, Marlene Dietrich.
The reader may be interested in the story behind the song Happy Birthday Mr. President, or the anti-war song, Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Harry P. Schlanger - Hello, I started out as a physicist working for research organisations. Mostly in the area of heat transfer in solids and porous media. ...
