Since this song is about World War I soldier, the parts with the line “My arms won’t stop shaking” are definitely referencing shell shock, the form of post-traumatic stress disorder that many WWI soldiers suffered from. One of the symptoms of shell shock is shaking. You can see what I mean in this video: https://youtu.be/IWHbF5jGJY0 Also, I learned that barbed wite was a common tactic in WWI. Here’s the information I found on that:
During World War I, barbed wire was used for both defensive purposes and as a trapping mechanism. Soldiers would defend their trenches with barbed wire by installing the barbed wire a distance away on the ground from the tops of their trenches. When used as a trap, artillery and gun fire were sometimes used specifically to direct enemy soldiers into already constructed barbed wire snares. Source: National Museum of the United States Air Force
So the butcher’s friend likely got caught in an enemy barbed wire trap.
Since this song is about World War I soldier, the parts with the line “My arms won’t stop shaking” are definitely referencing shell shock, the form of post-traumatic stress disorder that many WWI soldiers suffered from. One of the symptoms of shell shock is shaking. You can see what I mean in this video: https://youtu.be/IWHbF5jGJY0 Also, I learned that barbed wite was a common tactic in WWI. Here’s the information I found on that: During World War I, barbed wire was used for both defensive purposes and as a trapping mechanism. Soldiers would defend their trenches with barbed wire by installing the barbed wire a distance away on the ground from the tops of their trenches. When used as a trap, artillery and gun fire were sometimes used specifically to direct enemy soldiers into already constructed barbed wire snares. Source: National Museum of the United States Air Force
So the butcher’s friend likely got caught in an enemy barbed wire trap.