A letter came this morning it said Mrs Frankie Shaw
It had a postmark in the corner：July 1944
It just lay there in the hallway like some ancient contraband
And though the ink was brown &faded I still recognized the hand
My Frankie was a solider in some politicians' war
And he believed that king and country was a cause worth fighting for
And I still see us on the dockside Frankie's askin' for my hand
And now through 16 years of anguish I just let that promise stand
But there was no grand reunion there was no glorious event
I just knelt there in the hallway as the grieving came and went
And it was all I could say it was all I could do
I fell down on my knees and I wailed for you how I wailed for you
A letter came this morning full of passion and intent
It said we've had our first encounter but we barely made a dent
We're going back again tomorrow and I'm quaking in my boots
He said the tension's overwhelming he said the terror's absolute
As as I waited for the punchline you know the one that never came
I felt just like a victim in some poltician's game
And it was all I could say it was all I could do
I fell down on my knees and I wailed for you how I wailed for you
A letter came this morning and it shook me to the core
It was a letter from my Frankie sent in 1944
