Murphy's Law - Chesley James

From their 1998 album "Never The Same Way Twice".
Song written by one of the members, Carl Sooley.
Lyrics:
[Verse]
He was standing on the dock when the news had come around,
That his country was at war.
He heard the enemy was conquering allied lands,
And he could stand no more.
He gathered all his family by his side,
He kissed his darling mother.
A mother's hopes and dreams were crushed that day,
Chelsey James has gone to war.
[Verse]
He was a lad of barely nineteen years,
When he left his native land.
He'd quickly put his childhood behind,
He was forced to be a man.
He went off to fight an unknown cause,
He didn't know what he believed in.
Live or die it mattered not to them,
Chelsey James must take a stand.
[Chorus]
He fought in France, he fought in Italy.
North Africa as well.
They say his mind was hardened by it all,
Chelsey James has been through hell.
[Verse]
The one day while crawling through the trench,
With his rifle by his side.
He met a sight that made his heart full sore,
That he'd remember 'til he died.
Two dead soldiers a friend and a foe,
With their bayonets pierced each other.
A picture that his mind would not erase,
Chelsey James was horrified.
[Verse]
It was ten years after his return,
When they laid poor Chelsey low.
He came back a different sort of man,
Then went to war so long ago.
He was thrown back in society,
With no training but for fighting.
Just a modest tombstone marks the grave,
Of Chelsey James the forgotten hero.
[Chorus]
He fought in France, he fought in Italy.
North Africa as well.
They say his mind was hardened by it all,
Chelsey James has been through hell.
They say his mind was hardened by it all,
Chelsey James has been through hell.