The generals were gentlemen they say
General Methuen and General de la Rey
They met in a most ungentlemanly way
De la Rey was the Boer- lion of the West
Lord Methuen was one of Britain's best
He was sent to trap the Lion in his lair
But his campaign ended in despair
The Boers came bearing down on Methuen commando's in full force
De la Rey, van Zyl, Cilliers, Vermaas and Wolmarans
Eight hundred horsemen caught the Brits in disarray
But the Generals were gentleman that day
Lord Methuen's force was fifteen- hundred strong
His wagon train was cumbersome and long
In the battle he was wounded in the thigh
His grey mare was shot and fell on him and died
De la Rey ran to his enemy's aid
With two rifles, splints for his leg were made
De la Rey's wife nursed Methuen tenderly
Then to the British lines he was set free
In 1902 on the 7th day of March
Two Generals fought a battle on the banks of the river Harts
They met in the middle of a desperate fray
But the Generals were gentlemen that day
Though Boers were killed, some hundred Brits were dead
So many captured and so many fled
Later Methuen sent two rifles and supplies
To General De la Rey to his surprise
'twas in payment for compassion shown
That is how their friendship was grown
'twas a phenomenon no one could comprehend
How an enemy could end up as a friend
That's how a man of the plains whose horizon never ends
And an aristocratic English lord became lifelong friends
They could not speak each other's languages, they say
But the Generals were gentlemen that day
The Generals were gentlemen that day
