Had lived during the war, I would have been a Spitfire pilot,

I am sure the Hurricane was a good plane, but I never really liked it.

That eliptical wing was my thing, and the way that V12 Merlin would sing,

Had I lived during the war, I would have been a Spitfire pilot.

 

Ever since I was a young lad I had but one dream,

That one day I would get a chance to throw a leg over the wing of that magnificent machine.

And had I been born in different place and a different time,

When that call to duty came, I would have been the first in line.

 

In a heartbeat I would have signed up to have flown that most iconic of planes,

And in the annals of history forever etched would be my name.

Even to this day I still share that passion,

For jets and drones will come and go, but for me she will never go out of fashion.

 

I would have positioned her with the sun at my back,

Waiting patiently for the evil Hun before I made my attack.

And with my wingman glued to my side,

There would have been no place that Jerry could hide.

 

With a cavalier attitude of no equal,

I'd have swooped down from the heavens like an eagle.

And with my cannons furiously blazing,

I'd have performed feats nothing short of amazing.

 

As for their aces, I would have doffed my hat,

Whilst declaring Tally Ho Chaps!

Then I would have dived down once more and got amongst the battle,

As my Brownings would sound out their death rattle.

 

And if luck was to abandon me and I copped a hit,

Whilst trying to turn their Messerschmitts, into messes of shit,

Then I'd still have pledged allegiance to the Queen,

As I gladly took one for the team.

 

And I can understand why so many young pilots wrote those graceful planes off,

Given that most had just stepped out of a moth.

On the ground they would have been quite the handful,

Until they took to flight, then I imagine that they would have been absolutely delightful.

 

Though it is sad that they were a killing machine,

Whilst at the same time they were a liberator, and a guradian of the dream.

And for me their beauty will always remain a mystery,

As well as the pilots that flew them, gave their lives so gallantly, and whose actions forever changed the course of history.

 

As for the foes that gave battle in the skies,

In many ways they were the same as you and I.

Mostly tormented young men all riddled with doubt and fear,

Who in another time and a place, you might have shared a joke whilst enjoying a beer.

 

Yet maybe my enthusiasm would have seen my wings clipped,

And at a young age had me pushing up daisies and violets.

For as they say, there are old pilots, and there are bold pilots,

But there are no old, bold pilots.

 

Had a lived during the war, I would have been a Spitfire pilot,

I am sure the Hurricane was a good plane, but I never really liked it.

That eliptical wing was my thing, and the way that V12 Merlin would sing,

Had I lived during the war, I would have been a Spitfire pilot.