I was taking compass bearings for the Ordanance Survey
On an army training camp on Salisbury plain.
I had packed up my theodolite, I was calling it a day
Interlude
Oh my darling armadillo, let me tell you of my love,
Listen to my armadillo roundelay.
Be my fellow on my pillow underneath this weeping willow,
Be my darling armadillo all the day.
Riff x2
I was somewhat disconcerted by this curious affair
For a single armadillo, you alone,
On Salisbury plain in summer is comparitively rare
And a pair of them is practically unknown.
Drawn by that mellow solo, there I followed on my bike
To discover what these armadillo lovers might be like.
Interlude
Oh my darling armadillo how delightful it would be
If for us those silver wedding bells should chime.
Let the orange blossoms billow, you need only say I will, oh
Be my darling armadillo all the time.
Riff x2
Then I saw them in a hollow on a yellow muddy bank;
An armadillo singing to an armour-plated tank.
Should I tell him gaunt and rusting with the willow tree above,
I left him to his singing, I cycled home without a pause.
Never tell a man the truth about the one that he adores.
On the breeze that followed sunset I could hear that sad refrain
Singing willow, willow, willow down the way.
And I seem to hear it still oh vive l'amour, vive l'armadillo,
Be my darling armadillo all the day.
Be my darling armadillo all the day.