[Intro]
It began the same way it ended

[Verse 1]
Let me set the scene, war is a hellish thing
Hellish as it's ever been, redefine what hellish means
It's evergreen seeing men killing their fellow beings
Unheavenly screams pierced by deafening machines
Sacrificing actual lives and recompensed in pennies each
Said will this deceptive quest for peace never cease?
Did you ever see a friend in need flee in terror? He
Ebbed and weaved between threats and pleas, a wretch indeed
Wet feet drenched deep in the trench's heat, each
Feverish skeleton trembling and clenching teeth
Tell me when the death of a wretch was the centrepiece
He's just another leg wrenched from the centipede
A stampede, a legion proceeding when decreed
Chevaliers, regulars, levied men of every creed
Naïve men of seventeen, each a bel esprit
They've had their last meal, their blood's an aperitif
A fellow dead at the speed at which he fell off his steed
Leaving yet another friend or family member to grieve
Pawns on a board where death is the referee
A living chess piece that'll never get to queen
There's an enemy for every devotee of the regime
For whom doing the obscene extreme is routine
To then ascend the pecking order 'til you get to chief
Reset the record to the Pleistocene
Beads of sweat, heaving chest, don't forget to breathe
It seems to be progressive leads to being regressive beasts
The quest to be a better being fettered by aggressive greed
Tens of tens of centuries of horrendous deadly deeds
A veteran can never rest in peace
He's a revenant, a lesson destined to repeat
Repeat
[Verse 2]
He's a revenant, a lesson destined to repeat
A veteran can never rest in peace
Tens of tens of centuries of horrendous deadly deeds
The quest to be a better being fettered by aggressive greed
It seems to be progressive leads to being regressive beasts
Beads of sweat, heaving chest, don't forget to breathe
Reset the record to the Pleistocene
To then ascend the pecking order 'til you get to chief
For whom doing the obscene extreme is routine
There's an enemy for every devotee of the regime
A living chess piece that'll never get to queen
Pawns on a board where death is the referee
Leaving yet another friend or family member to grieve
A fellow dead at the speed at which he fell off his steed
They've had their last meal, their blood's an aperitif
Naïve men of seventeen, each a bel esprit
Chevaliers, regulars, levied men of every creed
A stampede, a legion proceeding when decreed
He's just another leg wrenched from the centipede
Tell me when the death of a wretch was the centrepiece
Feverish skeleton trembling and clenching teeth
Wet feet drenched deep in the trench's heat, each
Ebbed and weaved between threats and pleas, a wretch indeed
Did you ever see a friend in need flee in terror? He
Said will this deceptive quest for peace never cease?
Sacrificing actual lives and recompensed in pennies each
Unheavenly screams pierced by deafening machines
It's evergreen seeing men killing their fellow beings
Hellish as it's ever been, redefine what hellish means
Let me set the scene, war is a hellish thing
[Outro]
It ended the same way it began