I'd have to disagree with neonskyline about WWI. WWI was primarily pre-radio, even for the United States. Plus, the mention of a "boat" brings to mind submarines, which were also WWII exclusive.
And as for the rest of the song, I always imagined it as a girl in a little German town, mourning over a lover lost to the U.S. in the destruction of a U-boat, and the "red" would have been the occupying Communists.
I'd have to disagree with neonskyline about WWI. WWI was primarily pre-radio, even for the United States. Plus, the mention of a "boat" brings to mind submarines, which were also WWII exclusive.
And as for the rest of the song, I always imagined it as a girl in a little German town, mourning over a lover lost to the U.S. in the destruction of a U-boat, and the "red" would have been the occupying Communists.