Woods of Darney
Richard Thompson Lyrics

I found your picture in a corporal's pocket
I discovered your portrait in a soldier's pocket

His cold fingers still pressed it to his chest
Even in death, the soldier held onto the picture dearly

Sniper's bullet took his eyes and his breath away
The enemy's bullet ended the soldier's life instantly

Now he lies out in the forest with the rest
The soldier's body now lies among the many others in the woods

You looked shy in your grandmother's wedding dress
You appeared timid in your formal attire passed down by your grandmother

Feet set wide like a farm girl stands
You stood sturdy, with your feet apart like a country girl would

Too young to love and too young to lose
You were too inexperienced to understand and face the pain of losing someone

In a cracked picture frame in a dead man's hands
The photo of you was held by a deceased soldier within a damaged frame

I kept it with me for the luck, for the magic
I held onto the picture for good fortune and hope

Maybe fate wouldn't strike in the same place twice
Perhaps destiny wouldn't bring the same misfortune again

But something stirred and I dared to dream of you
Yet, something sparked and I began to envision a future with you

And I knew I'd look for you if I should survive
I made a promise to myself that I would search for you if I made it through the war

When we stood down at last it was easy to find you
Once the war was over, I found you without difficulty

And mine was the shoulder you cried on that day
I comforted you as you wept on my shoulder

Just an old comrade doing his duty
I was simply fulfilling my obligation as a fellow veteran

Bringing the news from the woods of Darney
I relayed news from the battlefield in Darney

When I showed you the picture, perhaps I felt jealousy
I may have been envious when I shared the picture with you

As your tears welled up with each reminisce
Your eyes filled with tears as you recalled the past memories

And my hands may be rougher and my tongue may be coarser
Although I may appear rugged and harsh, my love for you is genuine

But I knew I could give you a love good as his
I was certain I could love you as much as the soldier in the photograph did

Now we lie in the darkness together
We rest in the darkness side by side

Often we lie without speaking this way
We lay in silence like this frequently

As you stare in the dark do you see your young corporal
Do you imagine the soldier from the old photograph when you look into the darkness?

Who never came back from the woods of Darney
Whose life ended on the battlefield in Darney

Is it him that you see when we make love together?
Do you picture the fallen soldier in your mind when we are intimate?

Is it him that you see when war fills the sky?
Do thoughts of him cross your mind as we face further battles?

Was he there as you stood in your grandmother's wedding dress
Did the soldier's spirit watch over you as you wore the dress passed down by your grandmother?

As we made our own vows, you and I?
When we made our own vows of love and devotion

Now the bugle calls, they say this is the big one
The trumpet sounds, indicating this war may be the most significant one yet

A curse on the life of a soldier, you say
You utter words of condemnation towards the fate of soldiers

But don't you know that's a soldier's small comfort
Yet, as a soldier, that cursed life is something that brings some solace

For the bugle to sound, and to hear, and obey
To hear the trumpet sounded and to follow orders is a duty for a soldier

And I'll carry your picture, the one that he carried
I will hold onto your photograph, just like the soldier once did

I'll wear your innocence and take my chance
I will embrace your purity and take risks for our love

On a frozen field, in a far-flung war
On a cold battlefield, far away from home

To win back what we lost in a field in France
To regain what we lost in a previous battle in France

And it's many a soldier who goes into battle
Countless soldiers march into war

Your corporal and I, we just hear and obey
The soldier from the picture and I simply follow orders

Perhaps we'll lie in the darkness together
Maybe, we all will rest in the darkness together

With your love to bind us, in the woods of Darney
With your love keeping us together, in the forest where that old photograph was taken