At only fifteen years of age
Our lives are finished before they start
All twelve months are like December
What life did our grandparents have
Between the absinthe and the factory gates
They were worn out and old so early
Fifteen hours each day drained their lives away
Their faces left pale and grey as ash
Yes your lordship, thank you, bless you mistress
Why did they kill Jaures?
Why did they kill Jaures?
One cannot say that they were slaves
They had the choice to go or stay
The choice to live that way or die
None of them could change the world
And yet the hope of better times
Remained a vision in the weary eyes
Of those few who refused
To lead obsequious, obedient lives
Yes your lordship, thank you, bless you mistress
Why did they kill Jaures?
Why did they kill Jaures?
If by misfortune they survived
That war that was to end all wars
They remained at war for life
Lunatic generals used them
Like they used the bullets and grenades
In the killing fields of Europe
At twenty years they’d hardly yet been born
As they died in abject fear
And still we bow and scrape just as before
Still we beg their God to take yet more
Demand our rights and common wealth
Our youth and freedom, Earth itself
Demand the right to dream
Why did they kill Jaures?
Why did they kill Jaures?