We had looked into this song many times. Here is what JUDE had to say about this song that was adopted by armies the world over.

The song actually dates from the end of World War I but it didn’t catch on at that time. The story I hear is that for some reason the song was picked up as the ‘sign-off’ tune by Radio Belgrade - being operated at that time by the Germans - early on in World War II with its broadcasts beamed to the various fronts where German troops were fighting. It became a hit, first with the Afrika Korps, then on the Russian Front; Allied soldiers listened too and soon, LILI MARLENE became the sweetheart of all.

As for English lyrics, there are a multitude of variations ranging from the truly ‘sloppy sentiments’ to some fair and close translations. There are also parodies - one of the best known of which is by Ewan McCall entitled the D-DAY DODGERS. The lyrics are quite bitter and were written in response to criticism of the British 8th Army in Italy by Lady Aston who referred to them as ‘D-Day Dodgers’.

There is even a variation on the entire theme called THE WEDDING OF LILI MARLENE. I recall hearing it only a few times, years and years ago, and I have often wondered where I could get a copy of those lyrics.