No Mans Land lyrics

NO MAN`S LAND
(Eric Bogle)


1. Well, how`d you do, Private William McBride?
Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside?
I`ll rest here awhile in the warm summer sun,
I`ve been walking all day, Lord, and I`m nearly done.
And I see by your gravestone you were only 19
When you joined the glorious fallen in 1916--
Well, I hope you died quick and I hope you died clean,
Or, Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene?

Chorus:
Did they beat the drum slowly,
Did they sound the fife lowly,
Did the rifles fire o`er you as they lowered you down?
Did the bugles sing `The Last Post` in chorus?
Did the pipes play `The Flowers of the Forest?`

2. Did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind?
In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined