Young Fellow My Lad

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[Intro-Guitar]

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[Verse 1]

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"Where are you going, Young Fellow My Lad,
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On this glittering morn of May ?"
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"I'm going to join the Colors, Dad,
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They're looking for men, they say."
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"But you're only a boy, Young Fellow My Lad,
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You aren't obliged to go."
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"Well, I'm seventeen and a quarter, Dad,
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And ever so strong, you know."

[Verse 2]

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"So you're off to France, Young Fellow My Lad
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And you're looking so fit and bright."
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"I'm terribly sorry to leave you, dad,
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But I feel that I'm doing right."
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"God bless you and keep you, Young Fellow My Lad,
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You're all of my life, you know."
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"Don't worry. I'll soon be back, dear dad,
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And I'm awfully proud to go."

[Bridge--Harmonica]

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[Bridge-Guitar]

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[Verse 3]

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"Why don't you write, Young Fellow My Lad ?
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I watch for the post each day;
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And I miss you so and I'm awfully sad,
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And it's months since you went away.
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And I've had the fire in the parlor lit,
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And I'm keeping it burning bright
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Till my boy comes home, and here I sit
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Into the quiet night."

[Bridge]

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[Verse 4]

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"What is the matter, Young Fellow My Lad ?
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No letter again to-day.
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Why did the postman look so sad,
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And sigh as he turned away ?
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Well, I hear them tell that we've gained new ground,
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But a terrible price we've paid:
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God grant, my boy, that you're safe and sound;
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But oh I'm afraid, afraid."

[Bridge-Harmonica]

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[Brige--Guitar]

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[Verse 5]

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"They've told me the truth, Young Fellow My Lad,
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You'll never come back again:
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(Oh God! the dreams and the dreams I've had,
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And the hopes I've nursed in vain.)
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For you passed in the night, Young Fellow My Lad,
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And you proved in the cruel test
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Of the screaming shell and the battle hell
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That my boy was one of the best."

[Bridge]

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[Verse 6]

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"So you'll live, you'll live, Young Fellow My Lad,
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In the gleam of the evening star,
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In the wood-note wild and the laugh of the child,
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In all sweet things that are.
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And you'll never die, my wonderful boy
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While life is noble and true:
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For all our beauty and hope and joy
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We will owe to our lads like you."