Eric Bogle As If He Knows
It's as if he knows He's standing close to me His breath warm on my sleeve His head hung low It's as if he knows What the dawn will bring The end of everything For my old Banjo And all along the picket lines beneath the desert sky The Light Horsemen move amongst their mates to say one last goodbye And the horses stand so quietly Row on silent row It's as if they know
Time after time We rode through shot and shell We rode in and out of Hell On their strong backs Time after time They brought us safely through By their swift sure hooves And their brave hearts Tomorrow we will form up ranks and march down to the quay And sail back to our loved ones in that dear land across the sea While our loyal and true companions Who asked so little and gave so much Will lie dead in the dust.
For the orders came No horses to return We were to abandon them To be slaves After all we'd shared And all that we'd been through A Nation's gratitude Was a dusty grave For we can't leave them to the people here, we'd rather see them dead So each man will take his best mate's horse with a bullet through the head For the people here are like their land Wild and cruel and hard So Banjo, here's your reward.
It's as if he knows, he standing close to me, His breath warm on my sleeve, his head hung low. As he if he knew.
