Christmas 1915

1915 on Christmas Day

On western front the guns all died away

And lying in the mud on bags of sand

We heard the German sing from no man's land

He had a tenor voice so pure and true

The words were strange but every note we knew

Soaring ore the living dead and dammed

The German sang of peace from no man's land

They left their trenches and we left ours

Beneath tin hats the smiles bloomed

like wild flowers

With photos cigarettes and bottles of wine

We built a soldier's truce on the front line

Their singer was a lad of 21

We begged another song before the dawn

And sitting in the mud and blood and fear

He sang again the song all longed to hear

Silent night, no cannons roar

A king is born of peace for evermore

All's calm, all's bright

All brothers hand in hand

In 19 and 15 in no man's land

And in the morning all the guns boomed in the rain

And we killed them and they killed us again

At night they charged we fought them hand in hand

And I killed the boy that sang in no man's land

Silent night no cannons roar

A king is born of peace for evermore

All's calm, all's bright

All brothers hand in hand

And that young soldier sings

And the song of peace still rings

Though the captains and all the kings

Built no man's land

Sleeping in heavenly peace