Far away in time from our darkest day That took our young and brave From the cradle to the grave 70 years ago on July one 1916 on the Somme The enemies had never seen fighting like this before survive through that ordeal? Company 'A' to Company 'B' "Morale is high here, sir, but I don't think it's safe to go" Company 'A' from Company 'B' "Mister you have your orders and you must obey" So the first line rose, and the first line fell And a poet who survived later wrote about A "Sunlit vision of Hell" Because after all it's just another summer's day in France And the Tommies on the Somme sang "We are fighting to turn no-man's land into a common ground"