Candles in No Man’s Land (1914)

[Verse 1] Ploegsteert, the trench reeks of soaked clay

Thirty steps to the enemy, and yet another world away

We crouch down low, hands numb, breath turning into glass

And everyone waits for morning to start eating fire again

[Spoken 1] “Tomorrow you no shoot, we no shoot.”

[Pre-Chorus] No one believes the sentence right away

Too often hope was just a trick

But over the wire, candlelight begins to shake

And somewhere, a song answers back

[Chorus] Candles in no man’s land

For a single breath of time

No hero, no enemy, just people

With snow in their eyes

We trade smoke for a few words

And cold for a little courage

Candles in no man’s land

And suddenly the war feels wrong

[Verse 2] A man climbs up, empty hands, no rifle on his arm

Another walks to meet him slow, careful, trying to be warm

Then silence turns to quiet talking, fear to shy, surprised laughter

Cigarettes, chocolate, buttons, caps, the smallest bits that matter

And between us: all the dead, who’ve lain for days unclaimed

We dig in stillness, heads bowed low, because we know their names

[Spoken 2] “I think I have seen today one of the most extraordinary sights that anyone has ever seen.”

“The ground between the two lines of trenches was swarming with men and officers of both sides.”

[Chorus] Candles in no man’s land

For a single breath of time

No hero, no enemy, just people

With snow in their eyes

We trade smoke for a few words

And cold for a little courage

Candles in no man’s land

And suddenly the war feels wrong

[Verse 3] A photo somewhere near “Plugstreet”, shoulder to shoulder in the frost

Brits beside Saxons, as if it was allowed for once

One look says more than any flag, more than any word can do

Because no one here was born to hate the way they say we’re supposed to

[Spoken 3] “We came together and we shook hands — a bit cautiously!”

[Bridge] And yeah, a ball will roll across that frozen, broken ground

Not big, not clean, just one small spark from another world unbound

A laugh that dies out fast, because it sounds too real to keep

[Spoken 4] “The game finished with a score of three goals to two in favour of Fritz against Tommy.”

[Verse 4] Then orders come from deep behind the wire

The ending’s done politely, like you do when you’re tired

The first shot the next day sounds hollow, like something snapped in two

As if the world felt shame, and still went back to what it knew

[Spoken 5] “At 8.30am I fired three shots in the air and put up a flag with ‘Merry Christmas!’ on it…”

[Final Chorus] Candles in no man’s land

Until the morning screams

Then the war takes everything back

That lived for minutes’ worth of dreams

But anyone who’s seen it once

Won’t ever quite forget

Candles in no man’s land

As proof: we could have chosen different