The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #24768   Message #2598126
Posted By: Lighter
26-Mar-09 - 06:23 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Sing Me To Sleep / Sing Mir Dein Lied
Subject: Lyr Add: SING ME TO SLEEP (British Army parody)
British Army parody from World War I:

Sing me to sleep where bullets fall,
Let me forget the war and all;
Damp is my dug-out, cold my feet,
Nothing but bully and biscuits to eat.
Over the sandbags helmets you'll find
Corpses in front and corpses behind.

CHORUS: Far, far from Ypres I long to be,
Where German snipers can't get at me,
Think of me crouching where the worms creep,
Waiting for the sergeant to sing me to sleep.

Sing me to sleep in some old shed,
The rats all running around my head,
Stretched out upon my waterproof,
Dodging the raindrops through the roof,
Dreaming of home and nights in the West,
Somebody's overseas boots on my chest.

Patrick McGill published this in his "Soldier Songs" (1917). He ascribed authorship to Anonymous. Other, briefer versions exist.