The coldest winter in memory was 1709 
The sea froze off the coast of France all along the Neptune line 
By the lost town of Dunwich the shore was washed away 
They say you hear the church bells still as they toll beneath the waves 

Come all you earthly princes, wheresoever you may be 
From the Sun King in the court of France to the Czar in Muscovy 
Take heed of Charles of Sweden, the Lion of the North, 
On the cracked earth of summer with his army he goes forth 

Guardian angels wherever you may be, 
reach down and keep my soul for me 

I was there amongst that number, I heard the trumpets strain 
I saw the host of banners spread across the Polish plain 
Those who stood against us, they soon were swept away 
They may have the numbers but it's Charles shall have the day 

We cut our way through forests, crossed on frozen streams 
They fell away before us like a murmur in a dream 
And they burned the land around us as snow was closing in 
And the arms of winter took us as we fired against the wind 

Guardian angels wherever you may be, 
reach down and keep my soul for me 

Through all the courts of Europe there's a rumor from the East 
The kings have come to battle and it's Charles who's known defeat 
They'll shake their heads and wonder at how this came to be 
But it's nights without a shelter that have made an end for me 

Now Charles is fled to Turkey, left his men afar 
And they'll be marched through Moscow now as prisoners of the Czar 
And had I but known last summer what I know understand 
I'd have never set my foot inside this bleak and bitter land 

Guardian angels wherever you may be, 
reach down and keep my soul for me 

The coldest winter in memory was 1709 
The sea froze off the coast of France all along the Neptune line 
By the lost town of Dunwich the shore was washed away 
They say you hear the church bells still as they toll beneath the waves