I stood beside my comrades,
Friends in a rain drenched hell,
One by one they stood so proud
And one by one they fell.
I was scared when the order came,
We were told to 'go over the top',
"Run boy, run boy, run boy!"
I kept running and couldn't stop.
I was told about the barbed wire,
And those flares that lit the sky,
But I could only remember home
And thinking I was going to die.
The bullet that had my name on
Whistled before it hit my head,
The same tune that kept me alive
I will sing now that I am dead.
The fife and drums are now silent,
Tell Scotland that I was brave,
Tell my father that I ran and ran
Away from this unmarked grave.