A soldier lay down in the bundu one night
For his buddy had taken the watch to first light
And as he lay down
He rested his bones
And had a sweet dream on his bed of hard stones

It was only a soldier's dream
It was gone with the cold light of day
It was only a soldier's dream
In the morning it melted away

And where he lay down
There were thorns all around
And they all became a soft eiderdown
And the call of the jackal that tortured his fears
Was the laughter of friends like a song in his ears

It was only a soldier's dream
It was gone with the cold light of day
It was only a soldier's dream
In the morning it melted away

The twinkling stars were the lights of the bars
And the slugs in the veld were Havana cigars
And the gun that he cradled so close to his chest
Was the girl that he longed to hold to his breast

It was only a soldier's dream
It was gone with the cold light of day
It was only a soldier's dream
In the morning it melted away

His battered canteen
Held Burgundy wine
And his old combat jacket was velvet and fine
And the camouflage net was a veil of white lace
That he lifted and kissed her newly-wed face

It was only a soldier's dream
It was gone with the cold light of day
It was only a soldier's dream
In the morning it melted away