Lili Marleen

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Lili Marleen is a famous German song, popular during World War II. Image:Wasserturm Langeoog.jpg The words were originally written by Hans Leip in 1915, and later published as "Das Lied eines jungen Soldaten auf der Wacht" ("The Song of a Young Soldier on Watch"). It was set to music by Norbert Schultze in 1938.

The song was originally titled "Das Mädchen unter der Laterne" (German for "the girl under the lantern"), but it became famous as "Lili Marleen".

Recordings by Lale Andersen in 1939 and Marlene Dietrich helped to raise the song's profile. It achieved popularity despite the opposition of the Nazi regime, in particular Joseph Goebbels, the Nazis' propaganda secretary. Nevertheless, after capturing Belgrade in 1941, Radio Belgrade became the German forces radio station that could be received throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. The station played Andersen's recording. This was repeated every night at 9:55 PM. Both German and Allied soldiers around the Mediterranean regularly tuned in to hear it, thus spreading its popularity.

Allied soldiers in Italy later adopted the tune to their own lyrics, creating the D-Day Dodgers song.

Most recently it was covered by Neil Hannon of the Irish pop group The Divine Comedy as a B-side to the 2006 single "A Lady Of A Certain Age".

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