Three mules came over a hill    They were dragging a cart    Creaking, it seemed to be falling apart    Laden with millions of dreams    It weighed more than they thought    They never noticed the wheels getting caught    They pulled on, staring ahead    With blinkered eyes and lowered heads    Hoping that all would be fine    I see them now    Time out of time       Ramsey and Stanley and Neville    Were the names of the mules    Each wore a bridle encrusted with jewels    And though a murmur of voices    Was rising behind    Each laboured on    And they paid it no mind    They pulled on with never a doubt    Past boulders and holes    Till the road petered out    And giving a snort they sat down    Waiting for somebody else to come round    And from this are our lives writ large    From the beach at Dunkirk    To Pickett's Charge    And it's hard to go back    after coming this far    Down the road       Three mules looked over a fence    At the field beyond    Green as a forest it shone in the sun    Into the stillness they broke    Like a stone in a pond    And kicking the gate down    They brayed at the ground    And pulled on tugging a dream    Out of a smile and into a scream    And tossed the damp soil all around    Until the whole field turned muddy brown    And from this are our lives writ large    From the beach at Dunkirk    To Pickett's Charge    And it's hard to go back    after coming this far    Down the road       Ah, but it's not very easy now being a mule    I don't believe you appreciate all that we do    Look at this long and unfortunate face    Try to imagine that you're in my place    This is my nature    And to it I have to be true       Three mules came over a hill    With a sorrowful air    Though we've been judged, they said    It's hardly fair    All that we did was for you    And the good of the cause    Then they went back to the sound of applause    They went back into the night    Where a sickle of moon    Left a trickle of light    And while we lay under our roofs    The whole night filled up    With the beating of hooves    And from this are our lives writ large    From the beach at Dunkirk    To Pickett's Charge    And it's hard to go back    after coming this far    Down the road       And from this are our lives writ large    And every day    Is Pickett's Charge    And it's hard to go back    after coming this far    Down the road