A Guiding Life

I love this song, I can't find the music of it on youtube to let you hear it, so I'll just share the words:

Did you buy a poppy for armistice day
and remember old friends and relations,
who died and we buried so far away,
obeying the King's regulations.

Some they died heroes, some died alone,
some they lived on, but inside turned to stone
throughout all the fighting the order was thrown
come on lads the show must go on

I remember so clearly the times that we had
with my husband away training horses
each night something atrocious but we weren't all that bad
entertaining the lads in the forces

Then came the letter that told me he'd died,
struck with pneumonia, well I broke up inside
but I sang Dolly Grey and only afterwards cried
you know that the show must go on

With two children to care for, life not quite complete
I remember how well they both grew,
he was just like his dad,
she was small and neat
but again war winds o'er England blew

And the young men were called just like years before,
to become broken men in a bloody world war,
but throughout all the fighting, the blood and the gore
we knew that the show must go on

With my son far away, the letters grew short
and the skies over England turned grey
in a troop ship off Crete, just out from the port
a bomb took my son's life away

Of heroes and praises, the letter did sing
how he died for his country, his comrades, his King
how his death and those like it, at length peace would bring
but we knew that the show must go on

Well the show it went on, at last peace was won
and slowly the young men came home
my daughter got married and soon they were gone
I guess that left me all alone

I'm not really complaining but it makes me so mad,
all that was fought for, well it's all turning bad
Auditions are on, but I'm too old and sad
hope your show goes on well,

mine is done.