Alive and free
Far away in time from our darkest day
That took our young and brave
From the cradle to the grave
70 years ago on July one 1916 on the Somme

The enemies had never seen fighting like this before
Such a simple plan--
How could any german man
survive through that ordeal?

Company 'A' to Company 'B'
"Morale is high here, sir, but I don't think it's safe to go"
Company 'A' from Company 'B'
"Mister you have your orders and you must obey"

So the first line rose, and the first line fell
And a poet who survived later wrote about
A "Sunlit vision of Hell"
And "Larks singing"
Because after all it's just another summer's day in France
And the Tommies on the Somme sang
"We are fighting to turn no-man's land into a common ground"
A common ground