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Done With Bonaparte Lyrics
We're paying hell since Moscow burned
These Cossacks tear us piece by piece
Our dead are strewn a hundred leagues
Though death would be a sweet release
And our grande armeé is dressed in rags
A frozen, starving, beggar-band
Like rats, we steal each other's scraps
We fall to fighting hand-to-hand
Save my soul from evil, Lord
And heal this soldier's heart
I'll trust in thee to keep me, Lord
I'm done with Bonaparte
What dreams he made for us to dream!
Spanish skies, Egyptian sands.
Oh, the word was ours, we marched upon
Our Little Corporal's commands
And I lost an eye at Austerlitz
The sabre's slash yet give me pain
My one true love awaits me still
The flower of the Aquitaine
Save my soul from evil, Lord
And heal this soldier's heart
I'll trust in thee to keep me, Lord
I'm done with Bonaparte
I pray for her who prays for me
A safe return to my belle France
We prayed these wars would end all wars
In war we know is no romance
And I pray our child will never see
A little corporal again
Point toward a foreign shore
Captivate the hearts of men
Save my soul from evil, Lord
And heal this soldier's heart
I'll trust in thee to keep me, Lord
I'm done with Bonaparte
These Cossacks tear us piece by piece
Our dead are strewn a hundred leagues
Though death would be a sweet release
A frozen, starving, beggar-band
Like rats, we steal each other's scraps
We fall to fighting hand-to-hand
And heal this soldier's heart
I'll trust in thee to keep me, Lord
I'm done with Bonaparte
Spanish skies, Egyptian sands.
Oh, the word was ours, we marched upon
Our Little Corporal's commands
The sabre's slash yet give me pain
My one true love awaits me still
The flower of the Aquitaine
And heal this soldier's heart
I'll trust in thee to keep me, Lord
I'm done with Bonaparte
A safe return to my belle France
We prayed these wars would end all wars
In war we know is no romance
A little corporal again
Point toward a foreign shore
Captivate the hearts of men
And heal this soldier's heart
I'll trust in thee to keep me, Lord
I'm done with Bonaparte
Song Info
Submitted by
diluna25 On Mar 19, 2006
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This is a great, very beautiful, song about the disillusionment felt by many soldiers in Bonaparte's army during the Napoleonic wars. Possibly the best song from the Golden Heart album, because Knopfler's trademark awesome guitar work blends so well with the traditional instruments.
I really agree with diluna - this is such an awesome song!
I wonder if the repetition of the "little corporal" reference is intended to bring to mind another corporal who became a dictator and invaded Russia. Napoleon's Retreat and the defeat of the Wehrmacht at Stalingrad are strikingly similar.
As a student of Nelson and the Napoleonic wars, I love the lyrics to this song....it captures the heartbreak most of Napoleon's soldiers felt who survived his many campaigns.....and now desired to go home....this song I think is a metaphor for all the common soldiers of any wars at any time....regardless of the motivation...it recminds me of when Guderian visited Hitler after Moscow and saw all the books Hitler had on Napoleon's Moscow campaign.....paraphrasing...."too bad he (Hitler) didn't read/learn anything from them".....this song could apply to all the Germans lost on the Eastern front....