Shall we ever forget when the boys marched away,
To fight for their King and their home,
To fight with a smile on their lips and their faces aglow,
And no thought of the days yet to come?
Shall we ever forget their whistle and shout,
Their songs and their laughter and fun?
To them t’was a “joke” and a “spree” and a “lark”,
Till they came face to face with the Hun.
Shall we ever forget when they took up their place,
In the trenches so muddy and cold,
When “bully and biscuit” was “dinner and tea”?
Yet their spirits were brave and still bold.
Shall we ever forget when the news arrived home,
That a loved one had fallen out there?
The sun seemed to set and the birds ceased to sing,
And the future loomed dark with despair.
Shall we ever forget when peace was declared,
And the nation went mad with delight?
Yet for many t’was sad: no home-coming for them;
Still they joined in the shouts with their might.
Shall we ever forget our glorious dead
Who gave freely all they could give?
No! in marble and granite, still more in our hearts,
We will praise them as long as we live.
