I fought in a war
And I left my friends behind me
To go looking for the enemy
And it wasn't very long
Before I would stand
With another boy in front of me
And a corpse that just fell into me
With the bullets flying 'round

And I reminded myself of the words you said
When we were getting on
And I bet you're making shells back home
For a steady boy to wear
'Round his neck
Well, it won't hurt to think of you
As if you're waiting for this letter to arrive
Because I'll be here quite a while

I fought in a war
And I left my friends behind me
To go looking for the enemy
And it wasn't very long
Before I found out
That the sickness there ahead of me
Went beyond the bedsit infamy
Of the decade gone before
I reminded myself of the words you said
When we were getting on
And I bet you're making shells back home
For a steady man to wear
'Round his neck
Well, it won't hurt to think of you
As if you're waiting for this letter to arrive
Because I'll be here quite a while

I fought in a war
I didn't know where it would end
It stretched before me infinitely
I couldn't really think
Of a day beyond now
Keep your head down, pal, there's trouble plenty
In this hour, this day
I can see hope, I can see light

I reminded myself of the looks you gave
When we were getting on
I bet you're making shells back home
For a steady man to wear
'Round his neck
Well, it won't hurt to think of you
As if you're waiting for this letter to arrive
Because I'll be here quite a while