Last night I was dreaming of days that are gone,
Of days that you might recall,
And just like a photoplay upon my wall,
Once more I saw it all;
It was just a dream you see,
But how real it seemed to be.

Chorus
I saw buddies true,
Marching two by two,
In my dream of the Big Parade,
I saw angels fair
With the Red Cross there,
In my dream of the Big Parade.
I saw Gold Star Mothers, sisters and brothers,
What a sacrifice they made;
I saw one-legged pals coming home to their gals,
In my dream of the Big Parade.

I saw Chateau-Thierry all filled with marines,
I strolled by the river Seine,
I saw all the villages 'mid fields of green,
In old Alsace Lorraine;
And the mem'ry lingers yet,
They were scenes I can't forget.
(Chorus)

Spoken:
Millions of soldiers, millions of men
All going over--I see them again.
Oceans of water, submarines, too:
Millions of sailors helping them through.
Millions of doughboys landing in Brest,
Marching, marching, never a rest.
Millions of bullets thundering past.
Millions of bodies, wounded and gashed.
Valleys of ruins, mountains of mud,
Beautiful rivers and rivers of blood.
Airplanes flying, bombs coming down.
Millions of cooties crawling around.
Pieces of shrapnel, pieces of shell,
Many a cross where somebody fell.
Fighting and fighting a horrible war,
And God only knows what you're fighting it for.
Then came November, that Armistice Day;
Out of a trench, into a cafe.
Patty, Abie, Jimmy, and Jack,
Over their bottles of wine and cognac,
Telling their love tales to Jeanne and Georgette,
Little French girls they had to forget.
Ah, then came the journey over the foam,
But all that went over didn't come home.
(repeat last three lines of chorus)