Grand Daddy fought in the Northern Seine
A witness to the ghost of Charlemagne
The Northern Lights or the Holy Ghost
Drove him out of his bunker toward a German Host
Mustard gas tore his lungs apart
But he was driven by a hero’s heart
He told my Daddy, and Daddy told my son
How the First World War was won
On the bodies of a hundred friends
Lay broken hearts that victory cannot mend
For God, for country, and for a tale to tell
They turned their youth into their time in Hell
Turned their youth into their time in Hell
My father played the Pacific Stage
On the tide of his nations rage
Struck by a call to arms by infamy
He got the job done came home and made me
Never spoke about it when I asked
But Momma said he killed more than Grand Daddy had
And hardly slept through any given night`
Without dreaming about the sight
Of the bodies of a hundred friends
Of broken hearts that victory cannot mend
For God, for country, and for a tale to tell
They turned their youth into their time in Hell
Turned their youth into their time in Hell
I’ve been a fighter since I was a child
My fists hard and my spirit wild
But my war came in a different way
I didn’t want to go and I just couldn’t stay
Up in Winnipeg I had to change my name
Daddy swore he’d never say my name again
A hero’s son of a hero’s son, I turned away to be forgotten
Among the bodies of a hundred friends
Lay broken hearts that victory cannot mend
For God, for country, and for a tale to tell
They turned my youth into our time in Hell
Turned my youth into our time in Hell
When Momma fought her war in that cancer-ward
I came home to hold her hand
My father opened up the big front door
Hugged my wife and my son Dan
Took me in his arms as if I were the boy I was before
The Night my Momma died
We made a promise, we swore.
On the bodies of a hundred friends
Lay aside the differences and try to mend
For God, for country, and for Momma as well
To leave the past behind as our time in Hell
Leave it all behind as our time in Hell
On Six Strings & A Story:
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On Anderson, Ohio (featuring Guy Clark & Graham Parker)
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