King Henry - Pete Seeger

King Henry marched forth, a sword in his hand

Two thousand horsemen all at his command

In a fortnight the rivers ran red through the land

The year, fifteen hundred and twenty

The year is now nineteen sixty five

It’s easier far to stay alive

Just keep your mouth shut while the planes zoom and dive

Ten thousand miles over the ocean

Simon was drafted in sixty-three

In sixty-four, sent over the sea

Last month this letter he sent to me

He said, «You won’t like what I’m saying»

He said, We’ve no friends here, no hardly a one

We’ve got a few generals who just want our guns

But it will take more than them if we’re ever to win

Why, we’ll have to flatten the country

It’s my own troops I have to watch out for, he said

I sleep with a pistol right under my head

He wrote this last month, last week he was dead

And Simon came home in a casket

I mind my own business, I watch my TV

Complain about taxes, but pay anyway

In a civilized manner, my forefathers betray

Who long ago struggled for freedom

But each day a new headline screams at my bluff

On TV some general says, «We must be tough»

In my dreams I stare at this family I love

All gutted and spattered with napalm

King Henry marched forth, a sword in his hand

Two thousand horsemen all at his command

In a fortnight the rivers ran red through the land

The year, fifteen hundred and twenty

The year is now nineteen sixty five

It’s easier far to stay alive

Just keep your mouth shut while the planes zoom and dive

Ten thousand miles over the ocean