Barclay James Harvest - Ballad Of Denshaw Mill lyrics

On a cold starry night in the winter time Stood three old men by a mill pond in the moonlight And they spoke of their young men in the front line How they all wished them home for the christmas time As they spoke from the east came a bright light And it sparkled like pure gold in their sad eyes And an angel came down on denshaw mill Spreading her light all around on the darkside Are you blind can you not see Do you think that it's me who deceives? He promised to be there if you believe, to carry you home A hole as rotten as ever fouled the green earth Was this old mill in its day, spoke the angel Yet there's many a poor boy in foreign climes Who would think this old mill now a palace fine As she spoke from the mill there came laughter Came the warm sounds of their young men like a summer breeze And they rose in the night like fire bright Spreading their light all around on the darkside Are you blind can you not see Do you think that it's me who deceives? He promised to be there if you believe, to carry you home No-one knows what became of the bonny lads Posted missing, lost in action in a far land Fools and heroes, gallant men, now side by side With the old men who believed they came home that night To the warmth of their homes at christmas time To the peace of their homes at christmas time