Old Canteen lyrics

Swinging on my side, or weighing down my pack

Snagging and bulky constant companion

Carrying very life within

A burden kept preciously close

The water is hot and tastes bad

Iodine tablets and bug juice in a cup

In the jungles and deserts

Less and less, lighter and lighter

Cold or frozen solid

Through the mountains and tundras

Making it colder still

A load that wears on...

Once they clanked, then they thud

Forbidden to slosh about

Noise that gives away

The lives meant to protect

Two quarts a day ration

To drink, to rinse, to clean

The last sip, a small sacrifice

For a parting buddy dying

A wave of comfort in a land without

Still pours forth in memory

When drinking a bottle of water

In a silent toast...