Lovers and Friends -- Battlefield Band
Ah, battles and wars
Leave deep wounds and scars
And deep wounds are long in the mending
Where reflecting upon
All that is gone
Your life passes on til it's ending.
But the pleasure and pain
In our memories remain
And by memories, our times will be measured
And the times that we spend
With lovers and friends
Are times we remember with pleasure.
So fill up your glass
To the future and past
In harmony, be determined:
There's more friendship poured out
In a bottle of stout
Than you'll find in statute or sermon.
I've heard all the old songs
Of the rights and the wrongs
The prophets of doom and destruction
Speak more of messiahs,
Like all pariahs
Up to their necks in corruption.
From the holy and wise,
Denial and lies,
Where innocent youth is foresaken
I have watched the days end,
With lovers and friends,
Sorry to see the dawn breaking.
There are those who are certain
That drinking and courtin'
Is a sure way to hell and damnation.
Well if that is to be,
It would seem clear to me,
Their God has no sense of occasion.
To fulfill his plan,
Both woman and man,
Bring forth each new generation.
And a bottle of stout
And a bit of a bout,
Surely appease procreation.
Variation:
So fill up your glass,
Throw your arms round your lass
In harmony be determined.
There's more friendship poured out,
In a bottle of stout
Then you'll find in statute or sermon.
To the precious and pious
And them that shall chide us
To the fear that the call has been given.
To parade and deride us,
Separate and divide us
All in their versions of heaven.
But mountains and rivers
Will by far outlive us
When our bones into dust they are withered,
There will be lovers and friends,
And we'll still comprehend
The reason we're in this together.