Fish - Fortunes Of War Lyrics
Rosebuds scattered across the lawn like the squares at waterlooWith bayonets of thorns repelling small children in search of lost tennis ballsImaginary cannonballs that were fired at the legs of galloping cavalryResting their dreams in the shade of the apple treesToy soldiers drunk on warm lemonadeAnd the children dream of glory and fortunes of warSafe in bed with stories of fortunes of war, fortunes of warAs the sun sets low on these playing fieldsAn army returns bearing swords and shieldsDustbin lids and raspberry canes theyll live to fight another dayFor warriors medals, milk bottle topsBattle flags fashioned from mothers old table clothsBright colours run in the summer rainSometimes when they fall they will pretend that their hankie is a bandage to stop the bleedingAnd imagine city streets and desert storms and foreign fieldsTheres bullets flying, these are the fortunes of warI heard a wheelchair whisper across a stale, stagnant gymnasiumTrailing an ivy league jacket like a matadorThrough the jitterbug steps of the night beforeI followed him down to the church paradeWhere he makes his peace every armistice dayI watched him fade away, melt in the autumn rainFor sometimes when they fall they cant pretendThat the hankie is a bandage that cant stop the bleedingTheyre out in city streets and desert storms or foreign fieldsWith bullets flying, these are the fortunes of warWhile their children dream of glory and fortunes of warSafe in bed with stories and fortunes of warOf uniforms and glory, fortunes of war, fortunes of war(dick/cassidy/boult)
