Al Stewart - Three Mules

Three mules came over a hill


They were dragging a cart


Creaking, it seemed to be falling apart


Laden with millions of dreams


It weighed more than they thought


They never noticed the wheels getting caught


They pulled on, staring ahead


With blinkered eyes and lowered heads


Hoping that all would be fine


I see them now


Time out of time





Ramsey and Stanley and Neville


Were the names of the mules


Each wore a bridle encrusted with jewels


And though a murmur of voices


Was rising behind


Each laboured on


And they paid it no mind


They pulled on with never a doubt


Past boulders and holes


Till the road petered out


And giving a snort they sat down


Waiting for somebody else to come round


And from this are our lives writ large


From the beach at Dunkirk


To Pickett's Charge


And it's hard to go back


after coming this far


Down the road





Three mules looked over a fence


At the field beyond


Green as a forest it shone in the sun


Into the stillness they broke


Like a stone in a pond


And kicking the gate down


They brayed at the ground


And pulled on tugging a dream


Out of a smile and into a scream


And tossed the damp soil all around


Until the whole field turned muddy brown


And from this are our lives writ large


From the beach at Dunkirk


To Pickett's Charge


And it's hard to go back


after coming this far


Down the road





Ah, but it's not very easy now being a mule


I don't believe you appreciate all that we do


Look at this long and unfortunate face


Try to imagine that you're in my place


This is my nature


And to it I have to be true





Three mules came over a hill


With a sorrowful air


Though we've been judged, they said


It's hardly fair


All that we did was for you


And the good of the cause


Then they went back to the sound of applause


They went back into the night


Where a sickle of moon


Left a trickle of light


And while we lay under our roofs


The whole night filled up


With the beating of hooves


And from this are our lives writ large


From the beach at Dunkirk


To Pickett's Charge


And it's hard to go back


after coming this far


Down the road





And from this are our lives writ large


And every day


Is Pickett's Charge


And it's hard to go back


after coming this far


Down the road