Old Tom

Old Tom was wrinkled His face full of care A military blazer He'd always wear Tom was a fighter He'd boxed in the ring He had gone to war He'd fought for his King His medals with pride He always wore In the pub of an evening He'd lay down the law Every November He went on parade He remembered his comrades As a green wreath he laid He talked about them With a tear in his eye Though he held it all back He'd not openly cry But last November he wasn't there In the pub where he sat just an empty chair So we will hear his stories no more Of the battles he fought in the great war Though he was always cadging a drink We'll miss that stubborn old fellow I think Though his outside was hard he was soft inside And his chair has stayed empty Since the day that he died