Last night of the year
And out in the pub
I spied in the corner
A man on his todd

So I went and I asked
If I could sit with him
And he returned with
He was patiently waiting

For all of his brothers
Each of his comrades
To return from their duties
To drink and make merry

Each year along
the fewer arriving
Till this year alone
The glass he was raising

So I sat and I drank
With an old weary soldier
And listened intently
To the stories he told me

When the night ended
With smiles and with tears
I wished him farewell
And a happy new year