Thank you with all my heart, George. I was understudy in The Widow's Uniform to Brian Peters, who played Tommy Atkins, which meant that I missed out on Sidmouth but had a chance to sing and act in the stage in Scarborough! Tommy Atkins was the universal soldier; he was also a good melodeon player. Towards the end of the play, the playwright transported Tommy into the future to the first World War, where I sung Gethsemane: The Garden called Gethsemane In Picardy it was, And there the people came to see The English soldiers pass. We used to pass - we used to pass Or halt, as it might be, And ship our masks in case of gas Beyond Gethsemane. The Garden called Gethsemane, It held a pretty lass, But all the time she talked to me I prayed my cup might pass. The officers sat on the chair, The men lay on the grass, And all the time we halted there I prayed my cup might pass. It didn't pass - it didn't pass - It didn't pass from me. I drank it when we met the gas Beyond Gethsemane. Such moving poetry - such stunning music. Mick Tems
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