55 days at peking

Lyrics

​(Intro)
(Slow, heavy acoustic guitar strumming. A mournful slide guitar wails in the distance, sounding like a desert wind.)
​(Verse 1)
The sun’s a red eye on the Peiho shore
And I can’t hear the bugle or the drum no more.
Just the sound of the gasping, the boots in the sand
As the volunteers flee from this burning land.
I reached for my pouch, but the leather was light
The Mannlicher’s empty, it’s finished the fight.
A straight-pull bolt on a hollowed-out frame
Just a piece of cold iron with a dead man’s name.
​(Verse 2)
The Boxers are coming like a tide on the rise
With the spirit of dragons and fire in their eyes.
I started to run with the rest of the crew
But I looked at the gap where the shadows broke through.
If we all keep on running, we’ll die in the mud
The river will run with a commoner's blood.
Then I saw the young Lieutenant, face-down in the grit
With a Mauser C96... and a ten-round clip.
​(Chorus)
So HOLD THE LINE ‘TIL THEY MAKE THE BOAT
Austro-Hungarian, that’s all she wrote!
I’ll cover your retreat on the Peiho’s shore
I’ll give ‘em ten rounds, then I’ll give ‘em ten more.
Go on and run, boys, don’t you look back
I’m the ghost in the gate and the wood in the stack.
​(Verse 3)
I snapped on the holster, I braced it to my chest
The "Broomhandle" carbine is better than the rest.
The stripper-clip hissed as the rounds slid home
Like a prayer for a sailor on the salt and the foam.
The first wave hit with a thunderous roar
But the Mauser started barking, settling the score.
Semi-auto rhythm, a mechanical lead
I’m writing a story that no one will read.
​(Bridge)
(The music swells. The slide guitar becomes frantic and distorted, mimicking the rapid-fire "crack-crack-crack" of the pistol.)
The brass is piling up around my boots...
I’m pulling the weeds and I’m burning the roots!
One minute bought for the engineer’s life!
Two minutes bought for the doctor’s young wife!
Three minutes more and they’ve reached the canal!
I’m the king of the ruins, the lord of the pal!
​(Guitar Solo)
(A long, weeping solo that transitions from aggressive power to a lonely, high-pitched fading note.)
​(Verse 4 - Slow and Quiet)
The barrel is smoking, the hammer is back
And the sky over Peking is turning to black.
The Mauser is empty, the last clip is spent
But I heard the boat whistle, I know where they went.
I’m a long way from Pola, a long way from home
Standing watch on a mountain of powder and bone.
I’ll sit by this gate ‘til the lantern burns low
I’ve nowhere to run and I’ve nowhere to go.
​(Final Chorus)
Yeah, I HELD THE LINE ‘TIL THEY MADE THE BOAT
Austro-Hungarian, that’s all she wrote.
I covered the retreat on the Peiho’s shore
I gave ‘em my life, and I couldn’t give more.
Go on and sleep, boys, the river is wide
I’ll wait for the morning on the other side.
​(Outro)
(A single, slow acoustic strum)
The Mannlicher’s cold...
The Mauser is still...
(Fading slide guitar)
Just a ghost in the dust...
On a Chinese hill.
(Fade to silence)