Matt R mentioned this way back at the beginning of this thread. I guess The Zombies were never on my radar before, but I'm glad I listened to this on Spotify:


BUTCHER'S TALE (WESTERN FRONT 1914)
Written by Chris White
As recorded by The Zombies on "Odyssey and Oracle" (1968)

1. The butcher, yes, that was my trade,
But the King's shilling is now my fee.
A butcher I may as well have stayed,
For the slaughter that I see;
And the preacher in his pulpit
Sermoned "Go and fight; do what is right,"
But he don't have to hear these guns,
And I bet he sleeps at night.

CHORUS: And I,
And I can't stop shaking.
My hands won't stop shaking.
My arms won't stop shaking.
My mind won't stop shaking.
I want to go home.
Please let me go home,
Go home.

2. And I have seen a friend of mine
Hang on the wire like some rag toy,
Then in the heat the flies come down
And cover up the boy;
And the flies come down in Gommecourt, Thiepval,
Mametz Wood, and French Verdun.
If the preacher he could see those flies,
Wouldn't preach for the sound of guns. CHORUS

[Covered by Chrysanthemums, They Might Be Giants, John Wilkes Booze, and The Immediate.]