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      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 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, and I didn't know where it would end   It stretched before me infinitely, I couldn't really think   Of the 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      And I reminded myself of the looks you gave 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