An' 'ow it was we managed, well, I cannot understand,
But I never used the phrase book though I 'ad it in my 'and.
I winked at 'im to start with; 'e grinned from ear to ear;
An' 'e says "Tipperary" an' I says "Souvenir,"
'E 'ad my only Woodbine, I 'ad 'is thin cigar,
Which set the ball a'rollin', an' so—well, there you are!
I showed 'im next my wife an' kids, 'e up and showed me 'is.
Them funny little Frenchy kids with 'air all in a fizz;
"Annette," 'e says, "Louise," 'e says, an' 'is tears began to fall;
We was comrades when we parted, but we'd 'ardly spoke at all.
'E'd 'ave kissed me if I'd let 'im; we 'ad never met before,
An' I've never seen the beggar since, for that's the way o' war;
An' tho we scarcely spoke a word, I wonder just the same
If 'e'll ever see them kids of 'is—I never ast 'is name!
