A-fighting

Twas ten of us,
A band of lads
A-fighting in the war
We’d seen things we shouldn’t
War-horrors twer the things we saw.
We were still merry alive young men
But lo, something happened then —
We w’re walking in white-snow fields
When a gun-shot sounded true
And a hard lead bullet flew through
And all the while, the cold wind blew.
The enemy came storming now
And we were surrounded
And as we stood transfixed in horror
Nine more gunshots sounded.
Twas midnight when our hearty blood
Melted the dove-white snow;
Yes, we used to morn the day
Even though twas so long ago.
We don’t really mind any more, our merry band of ten,
For we are long, long dead;
Please, please;
Just think of us
When you walk where we once tread.