Drums of War

The firing guns and rockets which explode on war's grim stand (Beat the drum!)
Destroy the body, wreck the mind, and terminate the land. (War has come!)
We are no better than the men whose crimes we recreate (Light the fires!)
To kill our brother, slay our friend, or fill ourselves with hate. (Burn the pires!)
Objection here is not against particulars or men, (Slay them all!)
But rather to the fight itself which breaks through field or fen. (They must fall!)
If this cruel world could find itself inside a state of peace (Wreck the town!)
Where men were kind and fairness reigned and conflict all would cease (Tear it down!)
Then that would be the perfect world that men can find in dream (Start the fight!)
And brothers live in harmony as so the world would seem. (We are right!)
But acts of peace on this dark earth are not accepted well; (They are wrong!)
Our race loves war and makes the world into a living hell. (Sound the gong!)
What must we do to keep the peace between the dying lands? (Take it o'er!)
Our bloodstained steel must now be placed into whose adept hands? (Sink the shore!)
Who you will follow is for you; you must decide alone, (On the raid!)
But who you choose must be the one to drop the sling and stone. (Swords aren't stayed!)
The drums of war will beat along until they have been broke (Drums must pound!)
So on the drums, not on the men, must fall the hammer stroke. (Shake the ground!)