I’ve seen the maggots writhing in a mortar-shattered head,
I’ve seen the crows a’circling as we gather up our dead,
I’ve seen young lads start weeping as they bravely fought and bled:
This war has seared our souls.
Gory, gory, what a horrible way to die,
Gory, gory, not ours to question why,
Gory, gory, there’s a million ways to die,
This war has seared our souls.
I’ve seen good men go crazy in a brutal prison camp,
I’ve seen poor boys with trenchfoot from the constant rain and damp,
I’ve had morale crushed beneath the enemy’s fearsome tramp:
This war has seared our souls.
Gory, gory, what a horrible way to die,
Gory, gory, not ours to question why,
Gory, gory, there’s a million ways to die,
This war has seared our souls.
I’ve heard the arty comin’ down a’whistling overhead,
I’ve huddled in the trenches and wished that I were dead,
I’ve slept with rats and roaches and saw they were better fed:
This war has seared our souls.
Gory, gory, what a horrible way to die,
Gory, gory, not ours to question why,
Gory, gory, there’s a million ways to die,
This war has seared our souls.
I’ve seen the gas come rolling in as mustard-colored fogs,
I’ve scrambled with my gas-mask with hands frozen to logs,
I’ve heard my comrades choking as they died like helpless dogs:
This war has seared our souls.
Gory, gory, what a horrible way to die,
Gory, gory, not ours to question why,
Gory, gory, there’s a million ways to die,
This war has seared our souls.
I’ve seen a trooper fallen down, a bullet through his brain,
I’ve seen the mud turn darker as his blood mixed with the rain,
I’ve heard the shouts of “sniper,” wondered if he’ll strike again:
This war has seared our souls.
Gory, gory, what a horrible way to die,
Gory, gory, not ours to question why,
Gory, gory, there’s a million ways to die,
This war has seared our souls.
I’ve clambered out of trenches as I’ve heard the arty stop,
I’ve screamed and kept on running as the lads beside me drop,
I think of home and Jenny and if Da has sown the crop:
This war has seared my soul.
Gory, gory, what a horrible way to die,
Gory, gory, not ours to question why,
Gory, gory, there’s a million ways to die,
This war has seared our souls.
Gory, gory, what a horrible way to die,
Gory, gory, not ours to question why,
Gory, gory, there’s a million ways to die,
This war has seared our souls.
