Songs from the Wars

For as long as there have been wars, soldiers have always sung. Their songs are not always of glory, or even always of the war. Often they are bitter, or ironic, often well remembered songs from civilian life. Here are two, of many...

We be soldiers three,

Pardona moy, je vous an pree,

Lately come forth of the Low Country,

With never a penny of money.

 

Here, good fellow, I drink to thee,

Pardona moy, je vous an pree,

To all good fellows, wherever they be,

With never a penny of money.

 

And he that will not pledge me this,

Pardona moy, je vous an pree,

Pays for the shot whatever it is,

With never a penny of money.

 

We be soldiers three,

Pardona moy, je vous an pree,

Lately come forth of the Low Country,

With never a penny of money.

Here, good fellow, I drink to thee,

Pardona moy, je vous an pree,

To all good fellows, wherever they be,

With never a penny of money.

 

And he that will not pledge me this,

Pardona moy, je vous an pree,

Pays for the shot whatever it is,

With never a penny of money.

 

Charge it again, boy, charge it again,

Pardona moy, je vous an pree,

As long as there is any ink in thy pen,

With never a penny of money.

Just below the Manchurian border,

Korea is the spot,

We're due to spend our time here

In the land that God forgot.

 

Down with the snakes and the lizards,

Down where all men are blue,

Right in the middle of nowhere,

Thousand of miles from you.

 

We sweat and we freeze and we shiver,

It's more than a man can bear, .

We are not a bunch of convicts,

We are only doing our share.

 

We are soldiers of the army,

Earning our-lousy pay,

Guarding over millionaires

For four lousy bob a day.

Living with our memories,

Thinking of our gals;

Hoping while we've been away

They have not married our pals.

 

Few people know that we are here,

Few people give a damn.

Although we are almost forgotten,

We belong to the khaki clan.

 

The good times we've had in the army,

The good times we have missed;

Here's hoping the army don't get you,

So for Christ's sake don't go and enlist.

 

And when we arrive in heaven

St Peter will surely tell,

They've just come back from Korea, dear God,

They've spent their time in Hell.

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