Another song written for the play Candleford, this was performed by Bill Caddick and John Tams playing the parts of retired soldiers. John took the second verse, bestowing it with the wonderful pronunciation of 'Immerlayers.

The Scarlet and the Blue

I left me native country
I left me native home
To wear a soldier's tunic and preserve the old Queen's throne
I travelled out to India, the mutiny to quell
I have visited sweet Paradise and seen the gates of Hell

When we wore the scarlet and the blue
We took the old Queen's shilling when the Empire days were new
Forward into battle
Don't you hear the bugle call
Raise the tattered standard
Let me like a soldier fall

I've seen the Himalayas
I've been to Kathmandu
Seen sights to dazzle Solomon, the tales I could tell you
From Banbury to Bombay
The good times have gone by
Now don't believe the man who says old soldiers never die

When we wore the scarlet and the blue
We took the old Queen's shilling when the Empire days were new
Forward into battle
Don't you hear the bugle call
Raise the tattered standard
Let me like a soldier fall