1841 did we go marching to the drum
Into Afghanistan, the British army dealt a lesson bad.
16,000 troops and hangers on, reduced to simply 1,
Who made it out alive to Pakistan.

In 1878-80 Kabul loses most of its territory,
As well as the management of foreign affairs.
A game that’s played by other countries, forces the loss of state policies,
A buffer between the lion and the bear.

Afghanistan! The Soviets, the Taliban
Mujihadeen, coalition of the willing.
Afghanistan! 40 years of war,
Will they face another 100 more?

The last time was in 1919, years before any actual fighting
It became an obvious war for India.
But the British planes and bombs attacked the people of Kabul
And they were slaughtered by the fire from the air.

Afghanistan! The Soviets, the Taliban
Mujihadeen, coalition of the willing.
Afghanistan! 40 years of war,
Will they face another 100 more?

Then in 2001, we got the call up to the gun
We’re gonna fight this war on terror!
But after 8 bloody years of civilian tears
We seem to have made a significant error.

Because there’s no lessons learnt, but the game still goes on.