Work-a-day Warriors/"Glad That I Killed Yer"
" GLAD THAT I KILLED YER"
A MODERN SONG OF LAMECH
Hear my voice; hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man.—Genesis iv. 23.
Glad that I killed yer—It was you or me:Our bayonets locked,And then I pulled mine free;My heart beat like to burst;But Gawd, I got in first—Glad that I killed yer!
Glad that I killed yer,Though you are so young:How still you lieWith both your arms outflung:There's red blood on your hair—Well, what the Hell I care?—Glad that I killed yer!
Glad that I killed yer—You're my enemy;I had to hate—And you—you hated me;You mightn't be to blame—I killed yer just the same—Glad that I killed yer!
Glad that I killed yer—That's the game o' war;But for my luckI'd lie just like you are;Your blood is on my hand—Surely you understandI had to kill yer?
Glad that I killed yer—Yet I can't forgetThe look you gave meWhen we turned—and met—Why do you follow me with staring eye?Was it so difficult a thing to die—Gawd! when I killed yer?
Glad that I killed yer—Yet I'm sorry, too,For those will waitSo long at home for you:I have a mother living down at Bow—Thank Gawd for this that yours will never know'Twas I that killed yer!
Glad that I killed yer—It was you or me:It does seem strange,But it had got to be.My heart beat like to burst,But Gawd, I got in first—Glad that I killed yer!