"1917" (Words and music by David Olney)


Bm
The French prostitute, 1917

Bm Em
The strange young man who comes to me
F# Bm
A soldier on a three day spree
Bm Em
Who needs one night's cheap ecstasy 
F# Bm
And a woman's arms to hide him

Bm Em
He greets me with a courtly bow
F# Bm
He hides his pain by acting proud 
Bm Em
And he drinks too much and he laughs too loud 
F# Bm
But, how can I deny him?

D A
Let us dance beneath the moon
Em Bm
I'll sing to you "Claire de Lune"
D A
The morning always comes too soon
F# Bm
But tonight the war is over

Bm Em
He speaks to me in schoolboy French
F# Bm
Of a soldier's life inside a trench
Bm Em
The look of death, the ghastly stench
F# Bm
I do my best to please him

Bm Em
He puts two roses in a vase 
F# Bm
Two roses sadly out of place
Bm Em
Like the gallant smile on his haggard face 
F# Bm
Playfully I tease him

D A
Hold me 'neath the Paris sky
Em Bm
Let's not talk of how or why
D A
Tomorrow's soon enough to die
F# Bm
But tonight the war is over

Bm Em
We make love too hard, too fast 
F# Bm
He falls asleep, his face a mask
Bm Em
He wakes with the shakes and drinks from his flask
F# Bm
I put my arms around him

Bm Em
They die in the trenches, they die in the air
F# Bm
In Belgium an Franch the dead are everywhere
Bm Em
They die so fast there's no time to prepare
F# Bm
A decent grave to surround them

D A
Old World glory and Old World fame
Em Bm
The Old World's gone, gone up in flames
D A
Nothing will ever be the same
F# Bm
And nothing lasts forever

Bm Em
I'd pray for him, but I've forgotten how
F# Bm 
And there's nothing, nothing that can save him now
Bm Em
There's always another with the same funny bow
F# Bm
And who am I to deny them

D A
La, la etc.
Em Bm
D A
F# Bm
Tonight the war is over

From the album "Through a glass darkly", 1999 (Philo 1224)
(David Olney/Bug Music-David Olney Songs, adm. by Bug, BMI)
Transcribed by Marius Molstad