Don't Despise The Deserter

In a melancholy mood about the wars our governments believe are beneficial to our society? Here's a great tune to consider:

The Deserter, by John Richards

Here I stand in a land
That isn't my own
Far from the country
That I know as home

Sent here by the government
And armed by a King
I'm told I must kill men in order to bring
Peace to a foreign land

There he lies on a land
No longer his own
In the grey of the country
He once called his home

He was sent here by government,
Might not agree
And if someone must kill him
God, why is it me?
To bring peace to a foreign land

Don't despise the deserter
Don't despise the deserter
Who ran from the war

Don't despise the deserter
Don't despise the deserter
Who ran from the war

I went down to drag him
Away from the wire
But there were rifles to the left
And we started to fire

He was riddled with bullets
I was smothered in blood
And I can't see how murdering somebody could
Bring peace to a foreign land

Don't despise the deserter
Don't despise the deserter
Who ran from the war

Don't despise the deserter
Don't despise the deserter
Who ran from the war

So I ran from the fighting
And threw down my guns
I ran with the moon
And slept by the sun

Arrested by government
And charged by the King
To be shot 'cos I can't kill in order to bring
Peace to a foreign land

Don't despise the deserter
Don't despise the deserter
Who ran from the war

Don't despise the deserter
Don't despise the deserter
Who ran from the war

© John Richards