It's a cold farewell For the troops of the trench When they're swallowed in the cloud In this mustard colored stench It's a cold farewell All their comrades straight to hell And when the mortar strikes the ground When the gas fog swells It's a cold farewell When your lungs constrict When your throat burns bare And your eyes bulge and swell It's a cold farewell Your defences shot to hell Coughing lungfuls of blood Overwhelmed with dizzy spells It's a cold farewell For the troops of the trench On the battlefield you're stranded Wounded mildly at best It's a cold farewell When you're face down in the mud And the enemy advances You're surrounded by the thud Of the boots on the trot And the bayonets unsheathed And you're anxious not to breathe Desperate not to move It's a cold farewell When they stop and they circle And even though you are surrounded In your last moments you're alone