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Lest We Forget

by YiKeS
6 replies
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ANZAC DAY - April 25th

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And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over

Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day
How the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter

Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia

But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again

Now those that were left, well we tried to survive
In a mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
But around me the corpses piled higher

Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying

For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla

And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
Then turned all their faces away

And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams of past glory

And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore
The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question

And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all


copyright © Eric Bogle

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Last Known ANZAC Died 2002



Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And their ghosts may be heard as you pass the Billabong
Who'll come-a-waltzing Matilda with me?


YiKeS
#anzac #gallipoli #honour #matilda #walzing
  • Profile picture of the author Michael Motley
    what are we not forgetting?
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  • Profile picture of the author David Maschke
    It's kind of like Memorial Day n the U.S.

    I've trained with the Australian Army before. They
    are really fierce warriors.
    Signature

    I

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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Motley
    Yeah me too. They always drink all the beer.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Maschke
    Yeah me too. They always drink all the beer.
    LOL. It was expensive drinking with them.
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    I

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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Nice piece of lit for a memorial, Yikes.
    Salute to Australia -and yourself.
    Signature

    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
    I think there are only one or two vets from WW 1 left in the world. When I
    was a little boy there used to be Memorial day parades and the guys with the
    funny tin hats were always first up. In the little town I grew up in there were
    still a half dozen Spanish American War vets. They led the parade but mostly
    rode in a big horse drawn wagon. Now, we are going to lose WW II. The vets
    are all in their 80s and we hardly mention our own history in the schools anymore.
    Next it will be the Korean vets, the forgotten war. It'll be their turn to fade
    away. I don't think I know a single Korean vet personally. After that, Hmmmmm,
    it'll be my turn to be one the old coots at the front of the parade. It'll be my group
    that gets smaller and smaller year by year. Well.......................nuts. Thanks
    Yikes. I went and Googled up some information on the bloodbath with the Turks. Glad
    to know I'm not to old to learn new things.

    Tom
    Signature
    When you hear someone telling you what YOU can't do, they are usually talking about what THEY can't do.
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