Linda Ronstadt - 1917

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Song Lyrics

written by David Olney
© David Olney Songs
administered by Bug Music (BMI)

The strange young man who comes to me
A soldier on a three day spree
Who needs one night`s cheap ecstasy
And a woman`s arms to hide him
He greets me with a courtly bow
And hides his pain by acting proud
He drinks too much and he laughs too loud
How can I deny him?

Let us dance beneath the moon
I`ll sing to you "Claire de Lune`
The morning always comes too soon
But tonight the war is over

He speaks to me in schoolboy French
Of a soldier`s life inside a trench
Of the look of death and the ghastly stench
I do my best to please him

He puts two roses in a vase
Two roses sadly out of place
Like the gallant smile on his haggard face
Playfully I tease him

Hold me `neath the Paris skies
Let`s not talk of how or why
Tomorrow`s soon enough to die
But tonight the war is over

We make love too hard too fast
He falls asleep, his face a mask
He wakes with the shakes and he drinks from his flask
I put my arms around him

They die in the trenches and they die in the air
In Belgium and France the dead are everywhere
They die so fast there`s no time to prepare
A decent grave to surround them

Old world glory, old world fame
The old world`s gone, gone up in flames
Nothing will ever be the same
And nothing lasts forever

Oh I`d pray for him but I`ve forgotten how
And there`s nothing, nothing that can save him now
There`s always another with the same funny bow
And who am I to deny them

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