King Henry

King Henry marched forth, a sword in his hand
Two thousand horsemen all at his command
In a fortnight the rivers ran
Red through the land
The year fifteen hundred and twenty

The year it is now nineteen sixty-five
It's easier far to stay half-alive
Just keep your mouth shut while
The planes zoom and dive
Ten thousand miles over the ocean

Simon was drafted in sixty-three
In sixty-four, sent over the sea
Last month this letter he sent to me
He said "You won't like what I'm sayin'"
He said "We've no friends here
No hardly a one
We've got a few generals who
Just want our guns
But it'll take more than that
If we're ever to win
Why we'll have to flatten the country"

"It's my own troops I have
To watch out for", he said
"I sleep with a pistol right under my head"
He wrote this last month
Last week he was dead
And Simon came home in a casket

I mind my own business, I watch my TV
Complain about taxes but pay anyway
In a civilized manner my forefathers betrayed
Who long ago struggled for freedom

But each day a new headline
Screams at my bluff
On TV some general says "We must be tough"
In my dreams I stare at this family I love
All gutted and spattered with napalm

King Henry marched forth, a sword in his hand
Two thousand horsemen all at his command
In a fortnight the rivers ran
Red through the land
The year fifteen hundred and twenty

The year it is now nineteen sixty-five
It's easier far to stay half alive
Just keep your mouth shut while
The planes zoom and dive
Ten thousand miles over the ocean