Just as the Sun Went Down

(A Different Version)

Noting the words of the Boer War song of this title which appeared in a recent issue, a western reader forwards another version of the song, reading as below.  The same mail brought an enquiry for this very version from a correspondent in Bermuda:

After the din of the battle’s roar,

Just at the close of day,

Wounded and bleeding upon the field

Two dying soldiers lay.

One held a ringlet of thin grey hair

One held a lock of brown,

Bidding each other a last farewell,

Just as the sun went down.

Chorus

One thought of mother at home alone,

Feeble and old and grey,

One of a sweetheart he had left in town,

Happy and young and gay;

One kissed the ringlet of thin grey hair,

One kissed the lock of brown

Bidding farewell to the dear old flag,

Just as the sun went down.

One knew the joy of a mother’s love,

One of a sweetheart fair;

Thinking of home they lay side by side,

Breathing a farewell prayer—

One for his mother so old and grey,

One for the love in town;

They closed their eyes to the earth and skies,

Just as the sun went down.

Chorus

These were the words from a comrade’s lips,

One who survived the fight,

Sweetheart and mother were listening there—

Oh, what a pitiful sight!

Two hearts nigh broken, two noble lives lost,

Fighting defending the Crown,

Yet they were proud of the heroes who died

Just as the sun went down.

Chorus