A funny song from 1964.
Words and music by Tom Lehrer.
MLF stands for multilateral force.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
(Introduction, spoken:)
A considerable amount of commotion was stirred up during
The past year over the prospect of a multilateral force,
Known to the headline writers as MLF. Much of this discussion
Took place during the baseball season, so the Chronicle may not
Have covered it, but it did get a certain amount of publicity;
And the basic idea was that a bunch of us nations, the good guys,
Would get together on a joint nuclear deterrent force including
Our current friends, like France, and our traditional friends,
Like Germany. Here’s a song about that, called the MLF Lullaby:
- Sleep, baby, sleep, in peace may you slumber,
No danger lurks, your sleep to encumber.
We’ve got the missiles, peace to determine,
And one of the fingers on the button will be German - Why shouldn’t they have nuclear warheads?
England says no, but they all are soreheads.
I say a bygone should be a bygone,
Let’s make peace the way we did in Stanleyville and Saigon. - Once all the Germans were warlike and mean,
But that couldn’t happen again.
We taught them a lesson in nineteen eighteen
And they’ve hardly bothered us since then. - So, sleep well, my darling, the sandman can linger
We know our buddies won’t give us the finger.
Heil – hail – the Wehrmacht, I mean the Bundeswehr
Hail to our loyal ally!
M. L. F. will scare Brezhnev.
I hope he is half as scared as I!