Marlene Dietrich's Favorite Poem by Peter Murphy

Album: Deep (1989)

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Songfacts®:

A track from Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy's third solo album, "Marlene Dietrich's Favorite Poem" was inspired by a documentary he saw about the famous German actress. Dietrich was always coy when it came to revealing details about her life, but when she was asked to read her famous poem, she seemed to reveal her true self.

Murphy has taken a similar approach in his public persona, leaving much of his life and work open to question.
These lines:

Oh Marlene suffer all the fools
Who write you on the wall

Are likely a reference to the 1985 Suzanne Vega song "Marlene On The Wall," where Vega sings about the poster of Dietrich she had on her wall.

Comments: 2

Musicihaveloved from Here Of CourseI always thought it was a ballad to his mother.
Crow Boy from The UniverseWhile that's an interesting take on the lyric about the writing on the wall, a more common definition of the phrase might be more appropriate. "The writing is on the wall" means that something will cease to exist. That can be interpreted as her life, or the memory of her, or even the truth which could be replaced by lies about who she was.

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