Lili Marleen.

This is coolbert:

"Surely the favourite song of soldiers during World War II"

Indeed, "Lili Marleen became the unofficial anthem of the foot soldiers of both forces [allied and Axis] in the war." THE FAVORITE SONG AND UNOFFICIAL ANTHEM  OF ALL SOLDIERS REGARDLESS OF SIDE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR!

"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 (the daughter of a grocer), 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 'Marleen' as she disappeared into the evening fog."

"His poem was later published in a collection of his poetry in 1937." AND "The poems caught the attention of Norbert Schultze . . . who set this poem to music in 1938."

"General Feldmarschall Rommel liked the song and asked Radio Belgrade to incorporate the song into their [Radio Belgrade] broadcasts, which they did. The song soon became the signature of the broadcast and was played at 9:55 pm, just before sign-off."

From the official Lili Marleen web site you can hear and SAVE for free if you want all the various renditions of "Lili Marleen" in a whole bunch of languages, very well done. Some of the recordings albeit scratchy probably "ripped" as they say from old-time 78 RPM records.

"The Official Lili Marleen Page"

The girl under the lamp post it might be suggested in some quarters having a negative connotation?

Listen and enjoy!!

coolbert.