Christmas 1914 Songtext
von Mike Harding

Christmas Eve in 1914, stars were burning, burning bright
And all along the Western Front, guns were lying still and quiet
Men lay dozing in the trenches in the cold and in the dark
And far away behind the lines, a village dog began to bark

Some lay thinking of their families
Some sang songs while others were quiet
Rolling fags and playing brag to pass away this Christmas night
As they watched the German trenches, something moved in no man′s land
And through the dark there came a
Soldier carrying a white flag in his hand

Men from both sides, men came running, crossing into no man's land
Through the barbed wire, mud and shallows
Shyly stood their shaking hands
Fritz brought out cigars and brandy
Tommy brought corned beef and fags
Stood there talking, laughing, singing
The moon shone down on no man′s land


Christmas Day, we all played football in the mud of no man's land
Tommy brought some Christmas pudding, Fritz brought out a German band
When they beat us at the football
We shared out all the grub and drink
And Fritz showed me a faded photo of
A brown-haired girl back in Berlin

For four days after, no one fired, not one shell disturbed the night
For old Fritz and Tommy Atkins, they'd both lost the will to fight
So they withdrew us from the trenches, sent us far behind the lines
Sent fresh troops to take our places, told the guns prepare to fire

And next day in 1914, flares were burning, burning bright
The message came, "Prepare offensive
Over the top we′re going tonight"
And men stood waiting in the trenches
Looked out across our football park
And all along the Western Front, the Christmas guns began to bark

Men stood waiting in the trenches, looked out across our football park
And all along the Western Front, the Christmas guns began to bark