Old Blind Dogs - "Harry Brewer"
It was Kingstown in 1916
You enlisted to fight for the King
And you all sailed away on a morning in May
And that was the last you were seen
For they threw you into battle
Like dogs on that far away shore
With thousands of Huns with their rattling guns
Made you march through the battery's roar
So where are you now Harry Brewer
You're lying in some dirty hole
With the sun beating down on the old battle ground
May God give rest to your soul
There are officers safe in the barracks
And the medics installed by the beds
While the poor fools of war get cut down by the score
And the blood flows from their heads
And they gave you a fine decoration
For serving the cause of their nation
And all that you cost was a wee silver cross
And your name on a stone by the station
So where are you now Harry Brewer
You're lying in some dirty hole
With the sun beating down on the old battle ground
May God give rest to your soul
And back home where your family were grieving
There were others out fighting for freedom
On the post office steps with their heads held erect
They went down for a cause they believed in
They've not died for the few that have used them
They'll not fight for the crew that abuse them
But they'll hold their ground for a land of their own
And nobody's going to refuse them
So where are you now Harry Brewer
You're lying in some dirty hole
With the sun beating down on the old battle ground
May God give rest to your soul
So here's to you now Harry Brewer
I'm not saying you could have known better
There were thousands like you who sailed over the Brew
And came back in a government letter
There are hundreds who'll beat on the drums
And hundreds who carried the guns
But if you must die at all sure tis better to fall
For the right to hand down to your son
So where are you now Harry Brewer
You're lying in some dirty hole
With the sun beating down on the old battle ground
May God give rest to your soul