1917(Cavaco chords)

	        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
	        

Written by David Olney