LILI MARLENE
Somewhere after midnight, in a land not mine,
Somewhere near our mud-strewn battle line,
Sleep would not lull my soul tonight,
And so awake I long to write,
To you Lili Marlen, to you Lili Marlen.
In this battered shelter lashed by icy rain,
Thoughts of you are sunshine that banish grief and pain,
Soft burns my candle, soft yet bright,
My love for you is like that light,
So true Lili Marlen, so true Lili Marlen.
My beloved darling, I can’t forget that day,
The last we were together before I went away,
Rain fell like tears from sorrowing skies,
But tears not rain were in your eyes,
I knew Lili Marlen, I knew Lili Marlen.
Is your hair still golden, are your eyes as blue?
Would your voice enchant me as it used to do?
I’d trade the world to see your smile,
And hold you close just for awhile
Just you Lili Marlen, just you Lili Marlen.
Lower flames the candle, grey the eastern sky,
One more day of battle, another day to die.
God, how I hate this warring hell
But I endure each screaming shell
For you Lili Marlen, for you Lili Marlen.
Wait for me my darling till I return to thee,
When the guns are silent in hush of victory,
Even the flaming gates of hell
Against we two cannot prevail,
Adieu Lili Marlen, adieu Lili Marlen.
Canadian version of the popular wartime soldiers’ song,
found in the field notecase of Trooper S. A. Burke
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