Usher in the rally cries Revolution's here again The emperor's bonds are broken As free he shall remain
Escape, through narrow, was demand While his reign remained in view This fight for France, ‘till bitter end He must see it through
Coalition forms of many lands Against Napoleon, west to east Dogs of war will take to arms And soon will be unleashed
Prussian, Russian and Austrian All follow British lead At allies' helm is Wellington Who must make his foe concede?
CHORUS: Foreshadowed man of destiny Soon you will be forced to see Nations aligning against you Marking the time your reign is through ...And you will see your hundred days Come to an end Foreshadowed man of destiny Soon you will be forced to see Nations aligning against you Marking the time your reign is through ...It lies before you, fate shall befall you
Quickly, the allies gather force Near the Franco-Belgian line While 124,000 French March there in double time
As the battle begins Napoleon springs his audacious plan He'll attack them in two fronts Splitting up his warring band
As the Prussians sound retreat Behind they leave 12,000 slain Most of their force is still in tact And will live to fight again
Wellington, who felt the loss Of 5000 men Would feel more under cannon fire Bombardment from the French
CHORUS
BRIDGE: Of all the wars I have waged To propel my nations might For this I'll be remembered From now ‘till the end of time If to the victor go the spoils I may die an impoverished man For in the end, irony Has dealt the cruelest hand
The French force was swift and sure But their attack would be repelled And though their center battered The Anglo-Dutch line would be held
As fate or skill would have it An army moves from the east The Prussians who slipped through his hands Would soon spell his defeat
French lines now all broken And being open to attack The emperor has no choice And the old guard pulls him back
There are 45,000 wounded or dead When the fight was finally through On a three mile square of battlefield Near a town named Waterloo