Lyrics
Lyrics
On the third afternoon came a message from the Germans
"At midnight, our staff officers visit
And we must fire our automatic Pistolen
But we will fire higher
Nevertheless
Please, keep undercover"
At 11:00 p.m., Berlin midnight
We saw flashes going away
Into the air
Two days later, an army order came from GHQ
To the effect that men found fraternizing with the enemy
Would be court marshaled and
If found guilty, would suffer the death penalty
And again, in that place
The very lights soared over no-man's-land at night
And bullets cut showers of splinters from trees
And, sometimes, human flesh
And bone
So, hope
Sank into the mud again
"At midnight, our staff officers visit
And we must fire our automatic Pistolen
But we will fire higher
Nevertheless
Please, keep undercover"
At 11:00 p.m., Berlin midnight
We saw flashes going away
Into the air
Two days later, an army order came from GHQ
To the effect that men found fraternizing with the enemy
Would be court marshaled and
If found guilty, would suffer the death penalty
And again, in that place
The very lights soared over no-man's-land at night
And bullets cut showers of splinters from trees
And, sometimes, human flesh
And bone
So, hope
Sank into the mud again
At midnight
We heard laughing as we worked
We heard singing from the German lines, carols
The tunes of which we knew
I noticed a very bright light on a tall pole
Raised in their lines
Down opposite the East Lancs trench
In front of the convent
A Christmas tree
With lighted candles
Was set
On their parapet
The unreal moonlight life went on happily
Cries of "come on over, Tommy, we won't fire at you"
A dark figure approached me, hesitatingly
A trap?
I walked towards it with a bumping heart
"Merry Christmas, English friend"
We shook hands tremulously
We heard laughing as we worked
We heard singing from the German lines, carols
The tunes of which we knew
I noticed a very bright light on a tall pole
Raised in their lines
Down opposite the East Lancs trench
In front of the convent
A Christmas tree
With lighted candles
Was set
On their parapet
The unreal moonlight life went on happily
Cries of "come on over, Tommy, we won't fire at you"
A dark figure approached me, hesitatingly
A trap?
I walked towards it with a bumping heart
"Merry Christmas, English friend"
We shook hands tremulously
This is an excerpt
Of how the Christmas truce unfolded
According to Henry Williamson
A British army officer
Who was there
For weeks, we had lived in flooded trenches
The Germans were 80 yards away
Our trench was enfiladed
We lost many men
Shot by snipers
Night after night
Since the tailing off of the Battle of Ypres
We had toiled on the parapets
Filling sandbag with clay mud
Squelched through muddy lagoons of woodland tracks
Carrying rations, duckboards, pumps, and ammunition
We were volunteers
Rushed out to help General French's shattered expeditionary force
Of how the Christmas truce unfolded
According to Henry Williamson
A British army officer
Who was there
For weeks, we had lived in flooded trenches
The Germans were 80 yards away
Our trench was enfiladed
We lost many men
Shot by snipers
Night after night
Since the tailing off of the Battle of Ypres
We had toiled on the parapets
Filling sandbag with clay mud
Squelched through muddy lagoons of woodland tracks
Carrying rations, duckboards, pumps, and ammunition
We were volunteers
Rushed out to help General French's shattered expeditionary force
I wanna tell you something else
And I wanna make this clear
Don't just listen
Don't just listen
[Chorus]
Do, do, do
Don't just listen
Do, do, do
Don't just listen
Do, I'm not just talking
So, you know, I'm not just talking
I'm doing
And I don't want you to just listen
Put this information to work
Make
Today count
Every day, every day
[Chorus]
Do, do, do
Don't just listen
Do, do, do
Don't just listen
Go forward, get aggressive and attack
Whether it's on the battlefield or on the beat (Akira)
Or in the factory or on the farm or on the construction site
Or on the website
In the garage or in the firehouse, don't hesitate
And I wanna make this clear
Don't just listen
Don't just listen
[Chorus]
Do, do, do
Don't just listen
Do, do, do
Don't just listen
Do, I'm not just talking
So, you know, I'm not just talking
I'm doing
And I don't want you to just listen
Put this information to work
Make
Today count
Every day, every day
[Chorus]
Do, do, do
Don't just listen
Do, do, do
Don't just listen
Go forward, get aggressive and attack
Whether it's on the battlefield or on the beat (Akira)
Or in the factory or on the farm or on the construction site
Or on the website
In the garage or in the firehouse, don't hesitate