Trenches
©1977 Andrew Calhoun, recorded on Phoenix Envy.
We fought in the trenches when you were a baby,
Fought for the love of the noblest cause;
We are all tired and soon to be beaten,
We have forsaken our ancestors' laws.
Many's the morning we wander towards battle,
With so many reasons for playing the game;
With life so short and death so long,
We were all comrades when the savages came.
We must kill everyone that we meet in this forest,
We must stamp out every stranger's fire;
We are all men, but these claws hang above us,
Everyone's out here and killing for hire.
If you meet my nephew please tell him to look for me,
Ask him if he can remember;
For the forest's ablaze and we all need companions,
When it comes to the cold of December.
At night, more fall from the edge of this cliff
For we cannot see where we're going;
And we'll never fight our way back to the bottom
Where our women and children are waiting
We'll soon run out of weaponry
We'll soon run out of time
When the sun comes up, we'll all be ready
To finish our food and our last drop of wine
break
A wailing arose from the boot of the valley
And passed with the dew in the calls of the morning
All of the women and children are silent now
Who will forgive us for losing?