Sitting in a trench five fathoms deep
A soldier lay wounded in a muddy hole
At home, his wife and child weep
When they hear the news from the General

He closes his eyes, and sees his past
He sees his wife and child cry
He is home with them at last
One last time, he kisses them goodbye

Now he sees a boy, running in a farm
He knows this boy, this boy is him
He walks with his father arm to arm
Tackle box and rods they bear as they walk

He sees a boy and his little sister play
Out in the fields in lands of many acres
He takes her hand tightly and leads the way
Across the prairie grass, gentle warm breeze

Now beneath a tree stands two lovers
Holding hands, witnessed by sunset
Now he sees them beneath the covers
And then a baby girl in the young man's arms

He now sees a girl, ten years old
The girl is his daughter, his beloved child
He sees tears in her eyes, the evening cold
As her father, drafted, heads West to war

He sees the war, the bloody trenches
The men scattered in No-Man's Land
Ones barely alive crawl to their benches
Only to be shot again, left to die in agony

He sees a soldier, in a trench five fathoms deep
He sees the soldier wounded in a muddy hole
His wife and child, he hears them weep
When they hear the news from the General

In his final action, he sheds a tear
In his final sound, he hears a bell
In the distant, saved by fear
In the distant, the bell tolls

His comrade approaches him
He removes his spiked hat
He pays his respect to him
And he carries on home

For the wars of the past
For the wars of Hell
The documents for their memorial
Are written by the Victory Bell