16 years old when I went to the war,
To fight for a land fit for heroes.
God on my side, and a gun in my hand
Chasing my days down to zero.
And I marched, and I fought, and I bled and I died.
And I never did get any older.
But I knew at the time that a year in the line
was a long enough life for a soldier.
We all volunteered, and we wrote down our names
And we added two years to our ages
Eager for life and ahead of the game
Ready for history's pages
And we fought and we brawled and we whored 'till we stood
Ten thousand shoulder to shoulder
A thirst for the Hun, we were food for the gun
And that's what you are when you're soldiers
I heard my friend cry, and he sank to his knees
Caughing blood as he screamed for his mother
And I fell by his side, and that's how we died,
Clinging like kids to each other
And I lay in the mud and the guts and the blood
And I wept as his body grew golder
And I called for my mother and she never came
Though it wasn't my fault and I wasn't to blame
The day not half over and ten thousand salin
And now there's nobody remembers our names
And that's how it is for a soldier
To fight for a land fit for heroes.
God on my side, and a gun in my hand
Chasing my days down to zero.
And I never did get any older.
But I knew at the time that a year in the line
was a long enough life for a soldier.
And we added two years to our ages
Eager for life and ahead of the game
Ready for history's pages
Ten thousand shoulder to shoulder
A thirst for the Hun, we were food for the gun
And that's what you are when you're soldiers
Caughing blood as he screamed for his mother
And I fell by his side, and that's how we died,
Clinging like kids to each other
And I wept as his body grew golder
And I called for my mother and she never came
Though it wasn't my fault and I wasn't to blame
And now there's nobody remembers our names
And that's how it is for a soldier
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This song describes the terrifying reality of the battle of the Somme.Lemmy
s vocals are perfect.Sad,haunting,reflecting.Its been played every ANZAC DAY in my house since the album was released.Thank you Lemmy.1916 Damn how old is lemme?
i just love this song
This song is brilliant, the lyrics are perfect
This song is about a young soldier believing all the propaganda his country gave him and like many people of the time went off to join the war, even though he was only 16 at the time he was eager to go to war. The soldiers were promised that if they won the war they would live in a land fit for heroes (although it wasnt like that but i wont go into it) which is where that line comes from. The Hun is the term often used then to describe the german army. i imagine the battle he is talking about is the battle of the Somme which took place in 1916 and thousands of British troops lost their lives as they went over the top and got cut down by enemy fire.
amazing song, i bought the album for this song and i was not dissapointed with the song or the album
This song is different from any other motorhead song. It is interesting because lemmy still makes it sound like a motorhead song. It sounds like a ballad but it has a different element, it means something. It isn't just about a woman or anything in that matter. It is about a deeper subject that is worth listening. The song is about the reality of wars and how many, like the name is andy stated, bought into the propaganda they were given not realizing what was going on in the background. They weren't going to be heroes. They were pans in a battle that wasn't theirs. Truth hurts.
lemmy is 63(born 1945)
correction, Lemmy is older than time
correction, Lemmy is older than time
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Sounds like Mr. Kilmister is talking about a World War I soldier that has been forgotten to history.