King Henry Songtext
von 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 it is now nineteen sixty-five
It′s easier far to stay half-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 sayin'"

He said "We've no friends here, no hardly a one
We′ve got a few generals who just want our guns
But it′ll take more than that 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 T.V.
Complain about taxes but pay anyway
In a civilized manner my forefathers betrayed
Who long ago struggled for freedom

But each day a new headline screams at my bluff
On T.V. 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 it is now nineteen sixty-five
It′s easier far to stay half alive
Just keep your mouth shut while the planes zoom and dive
Ten thousand miles over the ocean