I left me native country, I left me native home
To wear a soldier's tunic and preserve the old Queen's throne.
I travelled out to India, the mutiny to quell,
I have visited sweet Paradise and seen the gates of Hell.
Chorus:
When we wore the scarlet and the blue,
We took the old Queen's shilling when the Empire days were new.
Forward into battle, don't you hear the bugle call,
Raise the tattered standard, let me like a soldier fall
I've seen the Himalayas, I've been to Kathmandu,
Seen sights to dazzle Solomon, the tales I could tell you.
From Banbury to Bombay the good times have gone by
Now don't believe the man who says old soldiers never die.
To wear a soldier's tunic and preserve the old Queen's throne.
I travelled out to India, the mutiny to quell,
I have visited sweet Paradise and seen the gates of Hell.
Chorus:
When we wore the scarlet and the blue,
We took the old Queen's shilling when the Empire days were new.
Forward into battle, don't you hear the bugle call,
Raise the tattered standard, let me like a soldier fall
I've seen the Himalayas, I've been to Kathmandu,
Seen sights to dazzle Solomon, the tales I could tell you.
From Banbury to Bombay the good times have gone by
Now don't believe the man who says old soldiers never die.