1.The Green Fields Of France
How do you do young willie mcbride,
Do you mind if i sit here down by your graveside,
And rest for a while 'neath the warm summer sun,
I've been walking all day and i'm nearly done
I see by your gravestone you were only 19
When you joined the great fall-in in 1916
I hope you died well and i hope you died clean
Or young willie mcbride was it slow and obscene.
Did they beat the drum slowly did they play the fife lowly
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
Did the band play the last post and chorus
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest
Did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind
In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined
Although you died back in 1916
In that faithful heart are you forever 19
Or are you a stranger without even a name
Enclosed then forever behind a glass frame
In an old photograph torn, battered and stained
And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame.
Did they beat the drum slowly did they play the fife lowly
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
Did the band play the last post and chorus
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest
The sun now it shines on the green fields of france
There's a warm summer breeze makes the red poppies dance
And look how the sun shines from under the clouds
There's no gas, no barbwire, there's no guns firing now
But here in this graveyard it's still no man's land
The countless white crosses stand mute in the sand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man
To a whole generation that were butchered and damned.
Did they beat the drum slowly did they play the fife lowly
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
Did the band play the last post and chorus
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest
Now young willie mcbride i can't help wonder why
Do those who lie here know why did they die
Did they believe when they answered the call
Did they really believe that this war would end wars
Well the sorrow, the suffering, the glory, the pain
The killing and the dying were all done in vain
For young willie mcbride it all happened again,
And again and again and again and again
Did they beat the drum slowly did they play the fife lowly
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
Did the band play the last post and chorus
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest
2.By Yon Bonnie Banks
By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on loch lomon'
Where me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of loch lomon'
Oh, ye'll tak' the high road and i'll tak' the low,
And i'll be in scotland afore ye;
For me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of loch lomon'
'twas there that we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep sides o' ben lomon'
Where in a purple hue the heilan' hills we view,
An the moon comin' out in the gloamin'.
Oh, ye'll tak' the high road and i'll tak' the low road,
And i'll be in scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of loch lomon'
The wee birdies sing and the wild flowers spring
And in sunshine the waters are sleepin'
But the broken heart it kens nae second spring again
Tho' the waefu' may cease frae their greetin'.
Oh, ye'll tak' the high road and i'll tak' the low road,
And i'll be in scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again.
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of loch lomon'
3.Danny Boy
Oh, danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen and down the mountainside
The summer's gone and all the roses falling,
'tis you, 'tis you must go and i must bide.
But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow,
'tis i'll be there in sunshine or in shadow,
Oh, danny boy, oh danny boy, i love you so.
And when you come and all the flowers are dying,
If i am dead - as dead as i well may be -
Ye'll come and find the place where i am lying
And kneel and say ave there for me;
And i shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave shall warmer, sweeter be,
And ye shall bend and tell me that you love me,
And i shall sleep in peace until you come to me.
4.The Last Rose Of Summer
'tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone,
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh
To reflect back her blushes
Or give sigh for sigh.
I'll not leave thee, thou lone one,
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly i scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead
So soon may i follow,
When friendships decay,
And from love's shining circle
The gems drop away!
When true hearts lie wither'd
And fond ones are flown,
Oh, who would inhabit
This bleak world alone？
5.And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
Now when i was a young man and i carried my pack
And i lived the free life of the rover
From the murray's green basin to the dusty out back
I waltzed my matilda all over.
Then in 1915 my country said 'son
It's time to stop rambling, there's work to be done'
And they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war.
And the band played waltzing matilda
As the ships pulled away from the quay
And amid all the tears, flag waving and cheers
We sailed off to galipolli
And how i remember that terrible day
How our blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called suvla bay
We were butchered like lambs to the slaughter.
Johnnie turk was ready, oh he primed himself well
He rained us with bullets and he showered us with shell
And in five minutes flat we were all blown to hell
Nearly blew us all back home to australia.
But the band played waltzing matilda
As we stuck to bury our slain
We burned ours and the turks buried theirs
And we started all over again
Those who were living just tried to survive
In a mad world of blood death and fire
And for ten weary weeks, i kept myself alive
While around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when i awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done and i wished i was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more i'll go waltzing matilda
All round the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs
No more waltzing matilda for me.
They collected the crippled, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to australia
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of suvla
And as our ship pulled in to circular key
And i looked at the place where my legs used to be
I thanked christ there was no one there waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played waltzing matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
And turned all their faces away
So now every april, i sit on my porch
And i watch the parade pass before me
And i see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Renewing their dreams of past glory
I see the old men all tired, stiff and sore
The weary old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask 'what are they marching for？'
And i ask myself the same question
And the band played waltzing matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But year after year, the numbers get fewer
Some day none will march there at all
Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda
Who'll come a waltzing matilda with me
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the billabong
Who'll come a waltzing matilda with me.
6.The Old House
lonely i wander through scenes of my childhood
They bring back to memory the happy days of yore
Gone are the old folk, the house stands deserted
No light in the window, no welcome at the door
Here's where the children played games on the heather
Here's where they sailed their wee boats on the burn
Where are they now？ some are dead, some have wandered
No more to their home will the children return
Lonely the house now, and lonely the moorland
The children have scattered, the old folk are gone
Why stand i here, like a ghost or a shadow？
is time i was movin', is time i passed on.
7.The Faded Coat Of Blue
My brave lad sleeps in his faded coat of blue;
In a lonely grave unknown lies the heart that beat so true
He sank faint and hungry among the famish'd brave
And they laid him sad and lonely within his nameless grave
No more the bugle calls the weary one,
Rest, noble spirit,
In thy grave unknown! i'll find you and know you,
Among the good and true,
When a robe of white is giv'n for the faded coat of blue
He cried, 'give me water and just a little crumb,
And my mother she will bless you thro' all the years to come;
Oh! tell my sweet sister, so gentle, good and true,
That i'll meet her up in heaven, in my faded coat of blue.'
No more the bugle calls the weary one,
Rest, noble spirit,
In thy grave unknown! i'll find you and know you,
Among the good and true,
When a robe of white is giv'n for the faded coat of blue
Long, long years have vanished, and though he comes no more,
Yet my heart will startling beat with each footfall at my door;
I gaze o'er the hill where he waved a last adieu,
But no gallant lad i see, in his faded coat of blue.
No more the bugle calls the weary one,
Rest, noble spirit,
In thy grave unknown! i'll find you and know you,
Among the good and true,
When a robe of white is giv'n for the faded coat of blue
No more the bugle calls the weary one,
Rest, noble spirit,
In thy grave unknown! i'll find you and know you,
Among the good and true,
When a robe of white is giv'n for the faded coat of blue
8.The Rose Of Tralee
The pale moon was rising above the green mountain,
The sun was declining beneath the blue sea;
When i strayed with my love to the pure crystal fountain,
That stands in the beautiful vale of tralee.
She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me;
Oh no, 'twas the truth in her eyes ever dawning,
That made me love mary, the rose of tralee.
The cool shades of evening their mantle were spreading
And mary all smiling sat listening to me;
The moon through the valley her pale rays were shining
When i won the heart of the rose of tralee.
She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me;
Oh no, 'twas the truth in her eyes ever dawning,
That made me love mary, the rose of tralee.
On the far fields of india, mid war's bloody thunder,
Her voice was a solace and comfort to me,
But the cold hand of death has now torn us asunder
I'm lonely tonight for my rose of tralee.
She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me;
Oh no, 'twas the truth in her eyes ever dawning,
That made me love mary, the rose of tralee.
9.The Sun Is Burning
The sun is burning in the sky,
Strands of clouds go slowly driftin' by
In the park, the dreamy bees are droning in the flowers among
the trees
And the sun burns in the sky.
Now the sun is in the west
Little babies lay down to take their rest
And the couples in the park are holding hands and waiting for
the dark
And the sun is sinking low.
Now the sun has come to earth
Shrouded in a mushroom cloud of death.
Death comes in a blinding flash of hellish heat that leaves a
smear of ash
And the sun has come to earth.
Now the sun has disappeared
All that's left is darkness, pain and fear.
Twisted sightless wrecks of men go crawling on their knees and
cry in pain
And the sun has disappeared
10.Christmas In The Trenches
Oh my name is francis tolliver, i come from liverpool
Two years ago the war was waiting for me after school
From belgium and to flanders, germany to here
I fought for king and country i love dear.
Twas christmas in the trenches and the frost so bitter hung
The frozen fields of france where still no christmas songs were
sung
Our families back in england were toasting us that day
There brave and glorious lads so far away.
I was lying with my mess mates on the cold and rocky ground
When across the lines of battle came a most peculiar sound
Says i now listen up me boys, each soldier strained to hear
As one young german voice sang out so clear.
He's singing bloody well you know, my partner says to me
Soon one by one each german voice joined in in harmony
The cannons rested silent and the gas cloud rolled no more
As christmas brought us respite from the war.
As soon as they were finished and a reverent pause was spent
God rest ye merry gentlemen struck up some lads from kent
The next thing sang was stille nach tis silent night says i
And in two tongues one song filled up that sky
There's someone coming towards us now the front line sentry said
All sights were fixed on one lone figure trudging from their
side
His truce flag like a christmas star shone on the plane so
bright
As he bravely trudged unarmed into the night.
Then one by one on either side, walked in to no mans land
With neither gun nor bayonet, we met there hand to hand
We shared some secret brandy and we wished each other well
And in a flare lit football game we gave them hell.
We traded chocolates, cigarettes and photographs from home
These sons and father far away from families of their own
Ton sanders played the squeeze box and they had a violin
This curious and unlikely band of men.
Soon daylight stole upon us and france was france once more
With sad farewells we each began to settle back to war
But the question haunted every heart that lived that wonderous
night
Whose family have i fixed within my sights.
Twas christmas in the trenches and the frost so bitter hung
The frozen fields of france were warmed, the songs of peace were
sung
For the walls they'd kept between us to exact the work of war
Had been crumbled and were gone forever more.
Oh my name is francis tolliver, from liverpool i dwell
Each christmas comes since world war i have learned its lesson
well
For the one who calls the shots won't be among the dead and lame
And on each end of the rifle we're the same
11.The Minstrel Boy
The minstrel boy to the war is gone,
In the ranks of death you'll find him;
His fathers sword he has girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him.
'land of song!' said the warrior bard,
'though all the world betrays thee,
One sword at least thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!'
The minstrel fell! - but the foeman's chain
Could not bring that proud soul under;
The harp he loved ne'er spoke again
For he tore is chords asunder;
And said 'no chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and bravery!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free,
They shall never sound in slavery.'
12.Auld Lang Syne
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind？
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' auld lang syne？
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne;
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet
For days of auld lang syne.
And here's a hand, my trusty friend
And gie'd a hand o' thine
And we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne;
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet
For days of auld lang syne.
13.Danny Boy(A Cappella)
Oh, danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen and down the mountainside
The summer's gone and all the roses falling,
'tis you, 'tis you must go and i must bide.
But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow,
'tis i'll be there in sunshine or in shadow,
Oh, danny boy, oh danny boy, i love you so.
And when you come and all the flowers are dying,
If i am dead - as dead as i well may be -
Ye'll come and find the place where i am lying
And kneel and say ave there for me;
And i shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave shall warmer, sweeter be,
And ye shall bend and tell me that you love me,
And i shall sleep in peace until you come to me.
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