Fortunes Of War Lyrics - Fish

Rose beds scattered across the lawn 

Like the squares at Waterloo 

With bayonets of thorns repelling small children 

In search of lost tennis balls 

Imaginary cannonballs that were fired 

At the legs of galloping cavalry 

Resting their dreams in the shade of the apple trees 

Toy soldiers drunk on warm lemonade 

And the children dream of glory and fortunes of war 

They're safe in bed with stories 

And fortunes of war, fortunes of war 

As the sun sets low on these playing fields 

An army returns with its swords and shields 

Dustbin lids and raspberry canes 

They'll live to fight another day 

Warrior's medals, milk bottle tops 

Battle flags fashioned 

From Mother's old table cloths 

Bright colors run in the summer rain 

'Cause sometimes when they fall 

They will pretend 

That the hankie is a bandage 

To stop the bleeding 

And imagine city streets 

And desert storms and foreign fields 

And bullets flying 

These are the fortunes of war 

I heard a wheelchair whisper 

Across a stale, stagnant gymnasium 

Trailing an ivy league jacket like a matador 

Through the jitterbug steps of the night before 

And I followed him down to the church parade 

Where he makes his peace every armistice day 

I watched him fade away 

And melt in the autumn rain 

'Cause sometimes when they fall 

They can't pretend 

That the hankie is a bandage 

They can't stop the bleeding 

They're out in city streets 

And desert storms in foreign fields 

Oh, there's bullets flying 

These are the fortunes of war 

While the children dream of glory 

And fortunes of war 

They're safe in bed with stories 

And fortunes of war 

The uniforms and glory 

The fortunes of war, fortunes of war 

The fortunes of war, fortunes of war 

Fortunes of war, these are the fortunes of war 

Of war, of war, of war, of war, of war 

These are the fortunes, these are the fortunes 

Fortunes of war, these are the fortunes, fortunes of war 

These are the fortunes, fortunes of war