On Tuesday morning in a field of tall thistles

All four of us had been stuck there with Benny for a long time

All the time mortars falling from the wall

All the time sniping from the Jordanian

A big mess – oh oh oh a big mess

 

Benny with enthusiasm covets a fence of stones

From which we can hide along the entire path

And while we were still quickly pouncing from the shooting

A shell explodes and shatters a hand here, a knee there

A big mess – oh oh oh a big mess

 

We look upwards and check out the situation:

Somehow everyone came out of it well apart from Benny

Cursing incessantly and red like a butcher

Guys he says, the attack here is getting worse

A big mess – oh oh oh a big mess

 

Suddenly he interrupts the burst

And looks over there and says, did you see?

I think there is a sparrow sitting on the edge of the thistle

Look at him when the shell explodes – did you see?

A big mess – oh oh oh a big mess.

 

What a sweet sparrow, simply floating a little and resting

And again and again, as if he was laughing at the Jordanian

It really did surprise us, a fearless sparrow

But it didn’t surprise us as much as Benny surprised us….

A big mess – oh oh oh a big mess

 

Because around us you will remember, shells are exploding

Snipers are firing over the open ground

Here and there already above us the thistles are being lopped off

It is no longer safe to hide behind them

A big mess – oh oh oh a big mess

 

And just them Benny finds time to make a prediction

His thigh is flowing but his heart is not flowing

Here the war, he whispered, will not go on for much longer

You saw the sparrow floating above

A big mess - oh oh oh a big mess