EL BALLAH
To relate this morbid tale of woe
Off to Egypt we must go
On desert sand, ‘neath blazing sun
Heaven ended, Hell began
Within this place so grim and bleak
Every day seems like a week
With town and village nowhere near
Lies this place – El Ballah
No laughing faces do we see
But faces fixed with misery
Night by night we sit and stare
Across the wilderness, wild and bare
Sometimes we sit beneath the moon
And dream of Blighty in June
Of times we had when we were there
This Arab place cannot compare
Sand in my shoes was just a song
Now it’s a curse, we have suffered long
Across the desert we must tramp
Guarding our beloved camp
We guard by night, we guard by day
To keep those thieving W..s away
The pyards howl, this night is still
Across the desert blows a chill
It’s hot by day, it’s cold by night
Infact, there’s nothing here that’s right
There is only one day for which we yearn
When back to Blighty we return
When Egypt falls into the past
Then we can start to live at last
The best view of Egypt without a doubt
Is from a troopship going out.
Sent in by Donald Hughes - ex: RAMC El Ballah 1951-53