Banks Of The Nile

Sandy Denny

Oh my Nancy, dearest Nancy, sure that will never do
The government has ordered, and we are bound to go
The government has ordered, and the Queen she gives command
And I am bound on oath, my love, to serve in a foreign land

Oh, but I'll cut off my yellow hair, and I'll go along with you
I'll dress myself in uniform, and I'll see Egypt too
I'll march beneath your banner while fortune it do smile
And we'll comfort one another on the banks of the Nile

But your waist it is too slender, and your fingers they are too small
In the sultry suns of Egypt your rosy cheeks would spoil
Where the cannons they do rattle, when the bullets they do fly
And the silver trumpets sound so loud to hide the dismal cries

Oh, cursed be those cruel wars, that ever they began
For they have robbed our country of manys the handsome men
They've robbed us of our sweethearts while their bodies they feed the lions
On the dry and sandy deserts which are the banks of the Nile