Fortunes of War Lyrics

Rose beds scattered across the lawn Like the squares at Waterloo With bayonets of thorns repelling small children In search of lost tennis balls
Imaginary cannonballs that were fired At the legs of galloping cavalry Resting their dreams in the shade of the apple trees Toy soldiers drunk on warm lemonade
And the children dream of glory and fortunes of war They're safe in bed with stories And fortunes of war, fortunes of war
As the sun sets low on these playing fields An army returns with its swords and shields Dustbin lids and raspberry canes They'll live to fight another day
Warrior's medals, milk bottle tops Battle flags fashioned From Mother's old table cloths Bright colors run in the summer rain
'Cause sometimes when they fall They will pretend That the hankie is a bandage To stop the bleeding
And imagine city streets And desert storms and foreign fields And bullets flying These are the fortunes of war
I heard a wheelchair whisper Across a stale, stagnant gymnasium Trailing an ivy league jacket like a matador Through the jitterbug steps of the night before
And I followed him down to the church parade Where he makes his peace every armistice day I watched him fade away And melt in the autumn rain
'Cause sometimes when they fall They can't pretend That the hankie is a bandage They can't stop the bleeding
They're out in city streets And desert storms in foreign fields Oh, there's bullets flying These are the fortunes of war
While the children dream of glory And fortunes of war They're safe in bed with stories And fortunes of war
The uniforms and glory The fortunes of war, fortunes of war The fortunes of war, fortunes of war Fortunes of war, these are the fortunes of war
Of war, of war, of war, of war, of war These are the fortunes, these are the fortunes Fortunes of war, these are the fortunes, fortunes of war These are the fortunes, fortunes of war