| At twelve o'clock at night
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| A drummer rises from the coffin;
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| And he walks back and forth,
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| And he promptly sounds the alarm.
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| And in dark coffins a drum
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| Mighty wakes the infantry;
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| Well done huntsmen get up,
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| The old grenadiers get up,
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| They rise from under the Russian snows,
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| From the luxurious Italian fields,
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| They rise from the African steppes,
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| From the combustible sands of Palestine.
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| At twelve o'clock at night
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| The trumpeter comes out of the grave;
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| And he jumps back and forth,
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| And loudly he blows the alarm.
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| And in the dark graves a trumpet
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| The mighty cavalry wakes up:
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| The gray-haired hussars rise,
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| Mustachioed cuirassiers get up;
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| And from the north, from the south they fly,
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| From the east and from the west they rush
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| On light air horses
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| One squadron after another.
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| At twelve o'clock at night
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| The commander rises from the coffin;
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| He is wearing a frock coat over his uniform;
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| He is with a small hat and a sword;
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| On an old war horse
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| He drives slowly along the front;
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| And the marshals go after him,
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| And adjutants follow him;
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| And the army salutes.
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| He stands in front of her;
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| And with music past him
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| Shelves after shelves go by.
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| And all their generals
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| Then he gathers in a circle,
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| And in the ear of your neighbor
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| He whispers his password and slogan;
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| And they give the whole army
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| They are that password and that slogan:
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| And France is their password
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| That slogan is Saint Helena.
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| At twelve o'clock at night
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| At the general's review from the coffin
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| So to your old soldiers
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| Caesar is dead. |