With seemingly universal lyrics, it was a go-to tune for soldiers on both sides of the front. After having gone through several translations, the song came to the U.S. as “The Beer Barrel Polka ...

The Beer Barrel Polka became the Tipperary of World War ... and wrote these sob-saccharine lyrics in Czech: Roses are blooming, what for, Nobody can help me any more, They bloom, they wither ...

with its English lyrics, was recorded in 1939 and became popular worldwide during World War II. In June 1939, “Beer Barrel Polka,” as recorded by Will Glahé, was the top song on the Hit Parade.