12-string Guitar: Christmas 1914 (Including lyrics and chords)

100 years ago today, during WWI, an unofficial truce occurred all along the Western Front. Thanks to Mudcat.org, I have been introduced to this song written by Cormac MacConnell and have worked out an accompaniment of my own from a video of the song linked to the thread in Mudcat. The following is an article that was printed in a Manx newspaper, (Isle of Man Times, I think), dated 13th January 1915: CHRISTMAS TRUCE IN THE TRENCHES ENEMIES SHAKE HANDS IMPROMPTU FOOTBALL MATCH A Douglas lady has received the following interesting letter from her brother, who is at present serving with the 1st Royal Fusiliers in the trenches:- “I know you like to have news firsthand, so I am going to just let you know how we spent Christmas. Well on Christmas Eve, the Germans stopped firing, and our chaps did the same. No firing was done that night, and on Xmas Day our chaps, ready for sport, went over to the Germans and shook hands with them. We exchanged beer and cigarettes for wine and cigars, and one of the Germans cut off all his buttons and gave them to one of our men in exchange for a pair of putties. Then we took a football over, and we were just going to play them a match when along came one of their fussy officers, three parts drunk, and raised Cain. He went off shocking, and ordered them back again; so we played ourselves, and they watched us and cheered. This is the truth, but as soon as 12 o’clock came, we started to fight again. – Ted."