In fields of scarlet poppies
The ghostly spirits roam
Cut down in their thousands
Never more to return home

At Arras and at Paschendale
The Somme and Suvla Bay
A forgotten generation fell beneath
The machine guns deadly spray

A fight for king and country
For a mile of blood soaked soil
Their reward was unemployment
Held hostage by their toil

The fools who led such futile quest
In pursuit of ill-judged glory
Damn their souls forever
The world shall know this story

The youth of many countries
Believing patriotic lies
Their life blood feeds the flowers
As each one falls and dies

A war to end all warfare
Still they fall in other lands
The poor will fight the battles
Till someone understands

For what did sons of mothers die?
What lessons have been learned?
This conflict has to run its course
Before the tide is turned