Powerful the message
straight from the heart
a fond farewell to two
of his loves, Lilly and Marleen
1915, WW I, Germany, Infantry
his name, Hans Leip,
it started like that:

Vor der Kaserne bei dem grossen Tor
Stand eine Lanterne und steht sie noch davor
(in front of the barracks by the large gate
she stood there in front of the Lamp)
So wollen wir uns wieder seh'n
Bei der Laterne wollen wir steh'n
Wie einst Lili Marleen.
(We wanted to see each other again
by the Lamp we want to stand
Like once Lili Marleen.)

Heart rendering the five stanzas
three lines in the fourth say it all,
Und sollten mir ein Leids gescheh'n
Wer wird bei der Lanterne stehen
Mit dir Lili Marleen?
(And if something were to happen to me
who would stand by the lamp
with you Lili Marleen?)

1937, Norbert Schultze wrote
the now famous melody
making the soldier's poem of WW I
the most popular song of WW II
translated into dozens of languages,
parodied endlessly,
you may recall the American version,
the first stanza went like this:

Underneath the lantern, by the barracks gate,
Darling, I remember the way you used to wait.
'twas there, you whispered tenderly,
That you loved me, you'd always be
My Lily of the Lamplight, my own Lily Marlene.

Yet another soldier,
8th Army, 1944, Italian front, Hamish Henderson
an eight stanza parody wrote,
the last stanza went like this:

Look around the hillsides,
Through the mist and rain,
See the scattered crosses,
Some that bear no name.
Heartbreak and toil and suffering gone,
The lads beneath, they slumber on.
They are the D-Day Dodgers,
Who'll stay in Italy.

There will be another soldier
who will write
a soldier's poem
powerful, straight from the heart,
reflecting the love and pain
of having to part.

Herbert Holzbauer
İFebruary 2003

Midi: "Lili Marleen"
Poet: Hans Leip
Composer: Norbert Schultze
Sequencer: Frank W Schober

Art: "Soldier"
(w1.187.telia.com)