Benjamin John - Out Into The Black

"Out Into The Black", is the 3rd of 4 songs belonging to my EP Album, "The Saga of Young Billy". A musical story following two cousins from Canterbury New Zealand, who find themselves on the Western Front in 1917. My music is now streaming on Spotify at; https://open.spotify.com/artist/2puKY... And at Apple Music at;   / benjamin-john   My music is also being distributed thru DistroKid. Look for Cricket's Creek Records, Benjamin John or The Field St Clan, at your Digital Music store. https://distrokid.com/dashboard/album... Lyrics: Blood is thicker, than the "Passiondale" mud Our mothers are sisters, it’s the same family blood We chased the wild horses by the Wai-mack stream Now he’s caught in the wire, caught in a scream The sergeant looks at me, drops his cigarette butt Says, "We don't leave family, in a godforsaken rut." He checks his revolver, grabs a pair of iron shears Two Canterbury men crawling, thru fifty yards of fears. And we’re going out over, into the black To bring our young Billy from Canterbury back Through the flares and the fires and the machine gun rain For the love of our mothers on the wide southern plain Hold on, little cousin, don't you close your eyes We're coming through the dark where the iron bird flies! We scramble the sandbags, we drop to our knees Smelling cordite and rot, on the freezing cold breeze I remember the summers, on the Ashley River bed Throwing stones in the water, not a care in our head Now I’m crawling through craters, the sky turning red The sergeant beside me, dodging the dead A flare lights the sky, we freeze in the muck Just two farm boys, running out of luck. And we’re going out over, into the black To bring our young Billy from Canterbury back Through the flares and the fires and the machine gun rain For the love of our mothers on the wide southern plain Hold on, little cousin, don't you close your eyes We're coming through the dark where the iron bird flies! We hit the front wire, the barbs tear my skin But I hear Billy choking, his breath getting thin The sergeant yells "Now!" and he cuts through the steel He grabs Billy’s shoulders, making it real A sniper's round cracks, the sergeant takes a hit But he won't let go, not one single bit! We drag Billy backward, thru the smoke and the lead The sergeant is bleeding, but he's nodding his head We heave over the parapet, crashing back down Safe in the trench, on this blood-splattered ground Billy opens his eyes, sees his cousin's wet face Whispers, "Tell Mum I’m sorry, I left the old place." We made it back over. We brought Billy home. Far from the tussock where the merino sheep roam. The sergeant is breathing, the stretcher bearer's at work We beat the dark valley, where the shadows lurk. Yeah, the kiwi flies high... Under a bloody Western sky.