Summary
Stories of love, loss and friendship through the Second World War favourite, Lili Marlene.
She was made famous by Marlene Dietrich - with songs sung by soldiers on both sides of the conflict.
Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The Traitors is back, and so is that mysterious cloaked figure with the familiar fringe. |
| 0:06.6 | Yeah, it's me. |
| 0:07.8 | And when you've watched Claudia in the castle, join me, Ed Gamble, for the official visualised companion podcast. |
| 0:13.6 | And remember, I'll be listening. |
| 0:15.8 | Okay? |
| 0:16.6 | No, seriously, I love it. |
| 0:18.4 | What a faithful. |
| 0:19.7 | We'll unpack betrayals and spill scandalous secrets with celebrity guests, traitors' legends, |
| 0:25.0 | and murdered and banished players. |
| 0:27.0 | The Traitors Uncloat. |
| 0:28.3 | Watch on EyePlayer, listen for more on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:32.0 | Lily Marlene is a song that was born during one war and made famous during another. |
| 0:38.2 | It is sadly, intricately linked to men fighting. |
| 0:41.9 | It is almost impossible to understand without the context of suffering and longing |
| 0:46.6 | that a poor soldier just like lying in the mud and waiting for it all to end is experiencing. |
| 0:54.5 | It wasn't a song of a general hoping to inspire men into battle. |
| 0:58.5 | It was a song of a private standing in a cold night, shivering, |
| 1:02.8 | you know, in a guard duty outside the barrack gates |
| 1:05.0 | and saying to himself, |
| 1:06.0 | I wish this damn thing would be over so I could return to my sweetheart. |
| 1:10.4 | Outside the barracks, by the corner light, |
| 1:15.0 | I'll always stand and wait for you at night. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.