Now seven supple lads and clean
Sat down to drink one night,
Sat down to drink at Nouex-les-Mines
And then went off to fight;
And seven supple lads and clean
Are finished with the fight,
But only three at Nouex-les-Mines
Sit down to drink to-night.

And when we took the cobbled road
We often took before,
Our thoughts were with the hearty lads
Who trod that way no more.
Oh! lads out on the level fields,
If you could call to mind
The good red wine at Nouex-les-Mines
You would not stay behind!

And when we left the trench to-night,
Each weary with his load,
Grey, silent ghosts, as light as air,
Came with us down the road.
And now we sit us down to drink
You sit beside us, too,
And drink red wine at Nouex-les-Mines
As once you used to do.