Songs of Love, Romance and War

As a babyboomer born only six years after the end of the war in Europe, my entire childhood was dominated by my parent’s war stories and the old black and white films like One of our Aircraft is Missing, The Dambusters, and Went the Day Well? And then there were the songs, beautiful, plaintive songs of love, loss and loyalty. This is my list of the ten most beautiful, poignant and romantic songs of the war years.

1) The number one has to be As Time Goes By as performed by Dooley Wilson in Casablanca. To be totally accurate it was written in 1931 but it is forever associated with Rick’s Cafe, Casablanca and Ingrid Bergman gazing into the past and remembering.

You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by.

And when two lovers woo
They still say, “I love you.”
On that you can rely
No matter what the future brings
As time goes by.

Moonlight and love songs
Never out of date.
Hearts full of passion
Jealousy and hate.
Woman needs man
And man must have his mate
That no one can deny.

It’s still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die.
The world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by.

2) Number two is nowhere near as famous. Perhaps because the circumstances of the song are very specific to the war years. The Lovely Weekend is a woman writing to her husband who has just returned to the conflict after a weekend leave.

I haven’t said thanks for that lovely weekend
Those two days of heaven you helped me spend
The thrill of your kiss as you stepped off the train
The smile in your eyes like the sun after rain

To mark the occasion we went out to dine
Remember the laughter, the music, the wine
That drive in the taxi when midnight had flown
Then breakfast next morning, just we two alone

You had to go, the time was too short
We both had so much to say
Your kit to be packed, the train to be caught
Sorry I cried but I just felt that way

And now you have gone, dear, this letter I pen
My heart travels with you till we meet again
Keep smiling, my darling, and someday we’ll spend
A lifetime as sweet as that lovely weekend

If it seems particularly heartbreaking and sincere it is because it is a real love letter written to a real soldier, who also happened to be a bandleader. He set it to music and it became an instant hit.

3) A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square – haven’t we all had the experience of falling in love and finding quite ordinary places become magical? I imagine the couple, both in uniform, walking hand in hand through the blackout.

That certain night
The night we met
There was magic abroad in the air
There were angels dining at the Ritz
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley square

I may be right I may be wrong
But I’m perfectly willing to swear
That when you turned and smiled at me
A nightingale sang in Berkeley square

The moon that lingered over London town
Poor puzzled moon he wore a frown
How could he know we two were so in love
The whole damned world seemed upside down

The streets of town were paved with stars
It was such a romantic affair
And as we kissed and said goodnight
A nightingale sang in Berekeley square

How strange it was
How sweet and strange
There was never a dream to compare
To those hazy crazy nights we met
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley square

Ah this heart of mine
Loud and fast
Like a merry-go-round in a fair
We would dance cheek to cheek
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley square

The dawn came stealing up
All gold and blue
To interrupt our rendez-vous
I still remember how you smiled and said
Was that a dream or was it true?

Our homeward step was just as light
As the dancing feet of astaire
And like an echo far away
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley square

5) Lili Marlene – well the Germans suffered, loved and lost too. A young soldier meets his love underneath a lantern outside the barrack gates.  He hears the bugle calling him away and kisses her goodbye. It is their last night together.

Underneath the lantern
By the barrack gate
Darling I remember
The way you used to wait
‘Twas there that you whispered tenderly
That you loved me
You’d always be
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene

Resting in our billet
Just behind the line
Even though we’re parted
Your lips are close to mine
You wait where that lantern softly gleamed
Your sweet face seems
To haunt my dreams
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene

6) When They Sound the Last All Clear – okay, not a great song but so evocative of the  Blitz and the way ordinary people faced the pain of parting and never knowing when they would see each other again.

When they sound the last all-clear
How happy, my darling, we’ll be
When they turn up the lights
And the dark lonely nights
Are only a memory

Never more we’ll be apart
Always together, sweetheart
For the peace-bells will ring
And the whole world will sing
When they sound the last all-clear

We’ve got our troubles and we’ve got our cares
But as long as we keep smiling through
There’ll come a day
When the clouds roll away
And the sun will be shining anew

When they sound the last all-clear
How happy, my darling, we’ll be
When they turn up the lights
And the dark lonely nights
Are only a memory

Never more we’ll be apart
Always together, sweetheart
For the peace-bells will ring
And the whole world will sing
When they sound the last all-clear

7) We’ll Meet Again – for my parent’s generation this should probably be number one on the list.

We’ll meet again,
Don’t know where, don’t know when,
But I know we’ll meet again, some sunny day.
Keep smiling through,
Just like you always do,
Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds, far away.

So will you please say hello,
To the folks that I know,
Tell them I won’t be long, 
They’ll be happy to know that as you saw me go
I was singing this song.

We’ll meet again,
Don’t know where, don’t know when.
But I know well meet again, some sunny day.
We’ll meet again,
Don’t know where, don’t know when.
But I know well meet again some sunny day.

8) The Last Time I Saw Paris – a love song to a city. I imagine a great many people felt this way when the tanks rolled in to their beloved Paris.

A lady known as Paris, Romantic and Charming
Has left her old companions and faded from view

Lonely men with lonely eyes are seeking her in vain
Her streets are where they were, but there’s no sign of her

She has left the Seine

The last time I saw Paris, her heart was warm and gay,
I heard the laughter of her heart in every street caf‚

The last time I saw Paris, her trees were dressed for spring,
And lovers walked beneath those trees and birds found songs to sing.

I dodged the same old taxicabs that I had dodged for years.
The chorus of their squeaky horns was music to my ears.

The last time I saw Paris, her heart was warm and gay,
No matter how they change her, I’ll remember her that way.

I’ll think of happy hours, and people who shared them
Old women, selling flowers, in markets at dawn

Children who applauded, Punch and Judy in the park
And those who danced at night and kept our Paris bright

’til the town went dark.

9) We’ll Gather Lilacs in The Spring Again – just beautiful.

We’ll gather lilacs in the spring again,
And walk together down an endless lane,
Until our hearts have learned to sing again,
When you come home once more.
And in the evening by the firelight glow,
You’ll hold me close and never let me go,
Your eyes will tell me all I want to know,
When you come home once more.

10) I’ll be Seeing You – Like so many of the war songs this is a song of reassurance to men and women far, far from home that they are remembered and loved.

I’ll be seeing you,
In all the old, familiar places,
That this heart of mine embraces,
All day through.

In that small cafe,
The park across the way,
The children’s carousel,
The chestnut tree,
The wishing well.

I’ll be seeing you,
In every lovely, summer’s day,
And everything that’s light and gay,
I’ll always think of you that way,
I’ll find you in the morning sun,
And when the night is new,
I’ll be looking at the moon,
But I’ll be seeing you.