Waterloo Teeth

At the peak of their powers, from London to Leith They died in their dozens, brave, coward and thief But to sufferers with toothache each man did bequeath A prize beyond measure, his Waterloo teeth They battled Napoleon, so strong their belief In the magic of Wellington, idol and chief And fell on that blood-sodden, miserable heath Each man with a full set of Waterloo teeth No maiden to mourn them, no fond mother's wreath Too far from their homeland, beyond pain and grief In battle-lines tumbled, above and beneath Those rows of impeccable Waterloo teeth Oh denture restorers from Croydon to Crieff From Montrose to Manchester, Troon, Cowdenbeath Yanked out from the gums of each scythed human sheaf Of soldiers, those wonderful Waterloo teeth!