Trade Heroes - On and On Lyrics

The dancehall stood half empty
On the eve of '42
The boys had just shipped off a week ago
Their fathers drank in memory
Of all they had lived through
And what they prayed their sons would never know
And debutantes in evening gowns
They'd never worn before
Kept casting hopeful glances at the door

The cowards and the invalids
Made up the house quartet
The barman's wife was tending in his stead
And students sipping soda pop
While practicing their steps
Had no idea of all that lay ahead
But everyone had heard the news
And so accepted fate
In hopes the boys would only be kept late

But we'll save a dance for
The one who's just arrived
As the band strikes up its only well-known song
And we'll go waltzing
In the beerlight
And in and out of time
And who knows if we'll ever reach the dawn
But the music just keeps playing on and on

In the spring of '65
The scene looked much the same
The old men sat there staring at their beer
The debutantes were mothers now
Who spoke their children's names
In reveries that no one else could hear
And in some distant future
The powder keg still burns
And the boys, they have yet to return

But we'll save a dance for
The one who's just arrived
As the band strikes up its only well-known song
And we'll go waltzing
In the beerlight
And in and out of time
And who knows if we'll ever reach the dawn
But the music just keeps playing on and on