Original German lyrics from a poem "The Song of a Young Sentry" by World War I German soldier, Hans Leip who wrote these verses before going to the Russian front in 1915, combining the name of his girlfriend, Lili with that of a friend's girlfriend or by a wave given to Leip, while he was on sentry duty, by a young nurse named Marleenas she disappeared into the evening fog.

The poems caught the attention of Norbert Schultze, who set this poem to music in 1938.

The tune had a rocky road. The propaganda secretary of the NSDAP, Joseph Göbbels did not like the song, as he liked marches. Lale Andersen did not want to sing it and so forth.

Recorded just before the war by Lale Andersen, the song sold just 700 copies, and was immediately banned in Germany, for its portentous character, which did nothing to slow its spread in popularity.

After the German occupation of Yugoslavia, a radio station was established in Belgrade and beamed news, and all the propaganda fit to air, to the Afrika Korps. Lieutenant Karl-Heinz Reintgen, the director of Radio Belgrade had a friend in the Afrika Korps who had liked the tune. He aired Lale Andersen's version for the first time on 18.8.1941. Generalfeldmarschall Rommel liked the song and asked Radio Belgrade to incorporate the song into their broadcasts, which they did. The song soon became the signature of the broadcast and was played at 21:55, just before sign-off.

After the song was broadcast there was no holding it back. The Allies listened to it and Lili Marleen became the favourite tune of soldiers on both sides, regardless of language.

It was sung in military hospitals and blasted over huge speakers, along with propaganda nuggets, across the frontlines, in both directions.

The song is said to have been translated into more than 48 languages, including French, Russian and Italian and Hebrew. Tito in Yugoslavia greatly enjoyed the song.

Lili Marlene is easily the most popular war song ever.