PARTS: Soprano Alto Tenor Bass All
KEY: bold = first beat of bar ^ = rest Underline = triplet backing vocal = [text]
171 - Lily Marlene
Verse 1
Un-derneath the lantern by the barrack gate
Dar-ling I remember the way you used to wait
'Twas there that you whispered ten-derly
That you loved me
You'd al-ways be
Chorus
My Lil-i of (gently here)the lamp-light
My own Lili Mar-lene
Verse 2
Time would come for roll call, time for us to part
Dar-ling I'd caress you and press you to my heart
And there neath that far off lan-tern light
I'd hold you tight
We'd kiss good night
Chorus
My Lil-i of (gently here)the lamp-light
My own Lili Mar-lene
Verse 3
(softer)Ord-ers came for sailing some-where over there
All confined to barracks 'twas more than I could bear
I knew you were waiting in the street
(sadly)I heard your feet
But could not meet
Chorus
My Lil-i of (gently here)the lamp-light
My own Lili Mar-lene
Verse 4
(louder)Rest-ing in our billet just behind the line
Ev-en though we're parted your lips are close to mine
You wait where that lantern soft-ly gleamed
Your sweet face seems
To haunt my dreams
Chorus
My Lil-i of (gently here)the lamp-light
My own Lili Mar-lene
Chorus
My Lil-i of (gently here)the lamp-light
My own Lili Mar-lene
The words were written in 1915 as a poem of three verses by Hans Leip (1893–1983), a school teacher from Hamburg who had been conscripted into the Imperial German Army. Leip reportedly combined the nickname of his friend's girlfriend, Lili, with the name of another friend, Marleen, who was a nurse. The poem was later published in 1937 as "Das Lied eines jungen Soldaten auf der Wacht" ("The Song of a Young Soldier on Watch"), with two further verses added.
It was set to music by Norbert Schultze in 1938 and recorded by Lale Andersen for the first time in 1939. In early 1942 she recorded the song in English, the lyrics translated by Norman Baillie-Stewart, a turncoat former British army officer working for German propaganda. Song writer Tommie Connor also wrote English lyrics with the title "Lily of the Lamplight" in 1944. SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lili_Marleen