They crossed over the border the hour before dawn 
Moving in lines through the day 
Most of our planes were destroyed on the ground where they lay 
Waiting for orders we held in the wood - word from the front never came 
By evening the sound of the gunfire was miles away 
Ah, softly we move through the shadows, slip away through the trees 
Crossing their lines in the mists in the fields on our hands and our knees 
And all that I ever was able to see 
The fire in the air glowing red silhouetting the smoke on the breeze 
All summer they drove us back through the Ukraine 
Smolyensk and Viyasma soon fell 
By autumn we stood with our backs to the town of Orel 
Closer and closer to Moscow they come - riding the wind like a bell 
General Guderian stands at the crest of the hill 
Winter brought with her the rains, oceans of mud filled the roads 
Gluing the tracks of their tanks to the ground while the sky filled with snow 
And all that I ever was able to see 
The fire in the air glowing red silhouetting the snow on the breeze 
In the footsteps of Napoleon the shadow figures stagger through the winter 
Falling back before the gates of Moscow, 
Standing in the wings like an avenger 
And far away behind their lines the partisans are stirring in the forest 
Coming unexpectedly upon their outposts, growing like a promise 
You'll never know, you'll never know 
Which way to turn, which way to look, you'll never see us 
As we're stealing through the blackness of the night 
You'll never know, you'll never hear us 
And the evening sings in a voice of amber, the dawn is surely coming 
The morning road leads to Stalingrad, and the sky is softly humming 
Two broken Tigers on fire in the night flicker their souls to the wind 
We wait in the lines for the final approach to begin 
It's been almost four years that I've carried a gun 
At home it'll almost be spring 
The flames of the Tigers are lighting the road to Berlin 
Ah, quickly we move through the ruins that bow to the ground 
The old men and children they send out to face us, they can't slow us down 
And all that I ever was able to see 
The eyes of the city are opening now it's the end of the dream 
I'm coming home, I'm coming home 
Now you can taste it in the wind, the war is over 
And I listen to the clicking of the train wheels as we roll across the border 
And now they ask me of the time 
That I was caught behind their lines and taken prisoner 
"They only held me for a day, a lucky break", I say; 
They turn and listen closer 
I'll never know, I'll never know 
Why I was taken from the line and all the others 
To board a special train and journey deep into the heart of holy Russia 
And it's cold and damp in the transit camp, and the air is still and sullen 
And the pale sun of October whispers the snow will soon be coming 
And I wonder when I'll be home again and the morning answers 
"Never" 
And the evening sighs and the steely Russian skies go on forever