Verse I I was a lad with a borrowed coat, Buttons dull and boots too wide, Mother wept at the station gate, Father stood there, stiff with pride. The whistle cried like a wounded thing, Steel wheels sang of a distant shore, I kissed my youth on the morning air, And left it there—came back no more. Chorus Oh the mud was thick and the nights were long, And the guns spoke louder than prayer, We sang old hymns to keep us warm In the devil’s open air. I buried friends and I buried fear, And learned what a man must pay, Now I walk real slow with years on my name, And mud on my boots still stays. Verse II In Flanders fields the poppies grew Where the boys fell one by one, We learned the sound of the Reaper’s step By the rising of the sun. Ink ran thin in the letters home, Couldn’t write what the eyes had seen, So I spoke of rain and bread and sleep, Not the blood in between. Chorus Oh the mud was thick and the nights were long, And the stars all hid in shame, We shook like leaves when the sky fell down At the calling of our names. I promised God and I promised ghosts I’d live if I got away, Now I live with both at my table still, And mud on my boots still stays. Verse III They called us back when the world caught fire, Said the job weren’t rightly done, Different flags, same killing fields, Same tears for every son. I was older then, but not so wise, Hands more scar than skin, Saw cities burn like funeral pyres, Saw the dark crawl in. Bridge Victory rang like a hollow bell, Peace came limping through, They gave us medals, gave us drinks, And told us what we’d do. But no parade could scrub the soul, No song could end the war, It just moved in behind the eyes And stayed forevermore. Final Chorus Oh the mud was thick and the nights were long, But the dawn still found a way, I loved, I lost, I held the line Till the end of my fighting days. If you sing this song, sing it soft and slow, For the ones who never came, I’ll be gone soon enough, but the road remembers— Mud on my boots, years on my name.
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