I lie where the brown water stands
Cold steel resting in no man's lands
The big guns cough across the grey
I watch the flash like break of day
I am the helmet in the mud
Watching the sky turn fire and blood
No keeper tends a lantern bright
Just thunder rolling through the night
A name is scratched inside my crown
Worn smooth by sweat and washing down
The owner gone to deeper rest
I hold the curve of his bent chest
I am the helmet in the mud
Watching the sky turn fire and blood
No keeper tends a lantern bright
Just thunder rolling through the night
The drones go humming overhead
Like angry hornets widely spread
I do not flinch I do not run
I wait until the war is done
The tide turns slow in iron grey
The lamps go out along the bay
No oil left to feed the flame
Just mud and steel and a forgotten name
A boot heel presses on my brim
The soldier looks the light is dim
He lifts me up he shakes the clay
And puts me on to face the day
I am the helmet in the mud
Watching the sky turn fire and blood
No keeper tends a lantern bright
Just thunder rolling through the night
Now I ride upon a living head
Where quiet thoughts replace the dead
The artillery sings its basso song
I know the watch goes on and on
I am the helmet in the mud
Watching the sky turn fire and blood
No keeper tends a lantern bright
Just thunder rolling through the night
I am the helmet in the mud
Watching the sky turn fire and blood
Steel rests quiet in the silt
The long watch ends the light is spilt
