ANZAC day in Oz.
Thursday, April 24, 2003 by Jafo | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
It's ANZAC day in Australia...25th April....;/
[the Aussie equivalent of July 4th [sort of]]
And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda - by Eric Bogle
Now when I was a young man I carried my pack
And lived the free life of the rover
From the Murray's Green Basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in 1915 my country said "Son,
It's time you stopped rambling, there's work to be done."
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they marched me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As the ship pulled away from the quay
And amidst all the cheers, flag waving and tears
We sailed off for Gallipoli
And how well I remember that terrible day
How our blood stained the sand and the water
And of how in that hell that they called Souvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
'Johnny Turk' he was ready, he'd primed himself well
He rained us with bullets and he showered us with shell
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
While we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then it started all over again
And those that were left, well we tried to survive
In that mad world of death, blood and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
Though around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse-over-head
And when I awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead
Never knew there was worse things than dying
For I'll go no more waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and free
For to hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me
So, they collected the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
And shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane
The proud, wounded heroes of Souvla
And when our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
Then they turned all their faces away
So now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams and past glories
And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore
They're tired old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
But the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But as year follows year, more old men disappear
Some day no one will march there at all
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll go a'waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by that billabong
Who'll come a'waltzing Matilda with me?
[the Aussie equivalent of July 4th [sort of]]
And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda - by Eric Bogle
Now when I was a young man I carried my pack
And lived the free life of the rover
From the Murray's Green Basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in 1915 my country said "Son,
It's time you stopped rambling, there's work to be done."
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they marched me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As the ship pulled away from the quay
And amidst all the cheers, flag waving and tears
We sailed off for Gallipoli
And how well I remember that terrible day
How our blood stained the sand and the water
And of how in that hell that they called Souvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
'Johnny Turk' he was ready, he'd primed himself well
He rained us with bullets and he showered us with shell
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
While we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then it started all over again
And those that were left, well we tried to survive
In that mad world of death, blood and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
Though around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse-over-head
And when I awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead
Never knew there was worse things than dying
For I'll go no more waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and free
For to hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me
So, they collected the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
And shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane
The proud, wounded heroes of Souvla
And when our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
Then they turned all their faces away
So now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams and past glories
And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore
They're tired old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
But the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But as year follows year, more old men disappear
Some day no one will march there at all
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll go a'waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by that billabong
Who'll come a'waltzing Matilda with me?
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Doreen
Reply #2 Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:30 PM
Reply #2 Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:30 PM
shoot I thought it was a "I'm listening to" thread but I see it's just another Holiday?
Jafo
Reply #3 Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:44 PM
Reply #3 Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:44 PM
Doreen...it's about remembering all those of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought and died in Gallipoli, and all those since who have fought and died selflessly in defense of their country, or been cannon-fodder to be 'used' by the British, or just plain forgotten in just about every other war.
Doreen
Reply #4 Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:49 PM
Reply #4 Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:49 PM
oh please me cannot take war stuff too well, to me it's such a waste of life (and that's about it) sorry but I just don't get this stuff. ppl just need to act human, and act right and find their space on the planet and the wars should stop (okay so I am a bit of a dreamer)
BoXXi
Reply #5 Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:52 PM
Reply #5 Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:52 PM
Hey! that's a bit harsh Paul. Surely we all fight for the same thing in the end, countries choose to fight alongside each other. Remember how many British men have died too. 
Doreen
Reply #6 Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:57 PM
Reply #6 Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:57 PM
oh boy here we go! well me jusss thought about one "War" I absolutely "Love" Mmmm
War - Slipping into Darknesss
Mmmm mmm mmmmmm!
War - Slipping into Darknesss
Mmmm mmm mmmmmm!
citats
Reply #7 Thursday, April 24, 2003 9:00 PM
Reply #7 Thursday, April 24, 2003 9:00 PM
Jafo... think you could send me an Eric Bogle cd specifically "When the wind Blows" I believe it has Soldier Soldier and Little Gomez on it. I was in the library once... lol I saw the title When the wind Blows I borrowed the cassett tape under the idea it had something to do with Roger Waters, he did the sound track for an educational cartoon of the same name. I was pleasantly surprised with what I heard (I have an ear for folk) anyway, he played here in Toronto not too long ago, I missed the chance by 1 day.... argh ... its impossible to find his music around here for some reason and I looked online (about 2 months ago last) no one had it instock for ordering. 
Jafo
Reply #8 Thursday, April 24, 2003 9:05 PM
Reply #8 Thursday, April 24, 2003 9:05 PM
Bryan...Gallipoli was a bit of a 'disaster' when it came to being 'handled' by the British. Let's just say the Anzacs themselves would have preferred to have been under the command of their own superiors. Gallipoli was no-one's 'shining hour', but the 25th is a time for the Turks and Anzacs to remember the fiasco that is war.
Jafo
Reply #9 Thursday, April 24, 2003 9:11 PM
Reply #9 Thursday, April 24, 2003 9:11 PM
Static...if you email me your addy I'll see what I can dig up for you.
The only one I have is 'The Gift Of Years'....because it has 'And the Band Played...', and 'No Man's Land', both of which easily bring a lump to my throat.
Bogle is a great anti-war folk singer / writer.....
The only one I have is 'The Gift Of Years'....because it has 'And the Band Played...', and 'No Man's Land', both of which easily bring a lump to my throat.
Bogle is a great anti-war folk singer / writer.....
Jafo
Reply #10 Thursday, April 24, 2003 9:17 PM
Reply #10 Thursday, April 24, 2003 9:17 PM
No Man's Land...by Eric Bogle
Well, how'd you do, Private Willie McBride,
D'you mind if I sit down down here by your graveside?
I'll rest for awhile in the warm summer sun,
Been walking all day, Lord, and I'm nearly done.
I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen
When you joined the glorious fallen in 1916,
I hope you died quick and I hope you died "clean,"
Or, Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene?
CHORUS:
Did they beat the drum slowly, did they sound the fife lowly?
Did the rifles fire o'er ye as they lowered ye down?
Did the bugles sing "The Last Post" in chorus?
Did the pipes play the "Floors1 O' The Forest"?
And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind
In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined?
And, though you died back in 1916,
To that loyal heart are you forever nineteen?
Or are you a stranger, without even a name,
Forever enshrined behind some glass pane,
In an old photograph, torn and tattered and stained,
And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame?
Well, the sun's shining down on these green fields of France;
The warm wind blows gently, the red poppies dance.
The trenches have vanished long under the plow;
No gas and no barbed wire, no guns firing now.
But here in this graveyard it's still No Man's Land;
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man.
And a whole generation who were butchered and damned.
And I can't help but wonder now, Willie McBride,
Do all those who lie here know why they died?
Did you really believe them when they told you "the cause?"
Did you really believe that this war would end wars?
Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame,
The killing, the dying, it was all done in vain,
For Willie McBride, it's all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again.
Well, how'd you do, Private Willie McBride,
D'you mind if I sit down down here by your graveside?
I'll rest for awhile in the warm summer sun,
Been walking all day, Lord, and I'm nearly done.
I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen
When you joined the glorious fallen in 1916,
I hope you died quick and I hope you died "clean,"
Or, Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene?
CHORUS:
Did they beat the drum slowly, did they sound the fife lowly?
Did the rifles fire o'er ye as they lowered ye down?
Did the bugles sing "The Last Post" in chorus?
Did the pipes play the "Floors1 O' The Forest"?
And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind
In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined?
And, though you died back in 1916,
To that loyal heart are you forever nineteen?
Or are you a stranger, without even a name,
Forever enshrined behind some glass pane,
In an old photograph, torn and tattered and stained,
And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame?
Well, the sun's shining down on these green fields of France;
The warm wind blows gently, the red poppies dance.
The trenches have vanished long under the plow;
No gas and no barbed wire, no guns firing now.
But here in this graveyard it's still No Man's Land;
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man.
And a whole generation who were butchered and damned.
And I can't help but wonder now, Willie McBride,
Do all those who lie here know why they died?
Did you really believe them when they told you "the cause?"
Did you really believe that this war would end wars?
Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame,
The killing, the dying, it was all done in vain,
For Willie McBride, it's all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again.
citats
Reply #11 Thursday, April 24, 2003 9:21 PM
Reply #11 Thursday, April 24, 2003 9:21 PM
even if you know of an Australian dealer that would do mail order... very heart felt words 
bmetelsky
Reply #12 Friday, April 25, 2003 1:25 AM
Reply #12 Friday, April 25, 2003 1:25 AM
Jafo,
I'll raise a toast (non-alcoholic, for me) to you, ANZAC Day, and Australia.
I'll raise a toast (non-alcoholic, for me) to you, ANZAC Day, and Australia.
wombat_1
Reply #13 Friday, April 25, 2003 1:36 AM
Reply #13 Friday, April 25, 2003 1:36 AM
Jafo, just returned from my 'family's' annual gathering.
My father is too frail to march unsupervised , so our group took him aboard, a very honoured 'ex-officia 7RAR temporary member' .... to add to the general sombre feeling of the day he lost one of his few remaining 'Catalina Club' friends last Wednesday.
The 'originals' from the so-called 'War to end all Wars' have almost all faded away and the men of my Dad's generation are going rapidly as well ..... I doubt if he'll make it next year.
Some how I think the weather (in Melbourne) was appropriate .... for the benefit of non-Aussie readers, ANZAC day is all about 'remembering old friends' and far from celebrating or glorifying War.
One of the more encouraging signs for the future are the young people who understand and attend, as well as the Australian citizens who emigrated post war and are part of the fabric of ANZAC day.
My only beef with the good Mr Bogle .... and I love his words and music ..... is his overt left wing politics!
And he's a bloody Scot!!!!!
My father is too frail to march unsupervised , so our group took him aboard, a very honoured 'ex-officia 7RAR temporary member' .... to add to the general sombre feeling of the day he lost one of his few remaining 'Catalina Club' friends last Wednesday.
The 'originals' from the so-called 'War to end all Wars' have almost all faded away and the men of my Dad's generation are going rapidly as well ..... I doubt if he'll make it next year.
Some how I think the weather (in Melbourne) was appropriate .... for the benefit of non-Aussie readers, ANZAC day is all about 'remembering old friends' and far from celebrating or glorifying War.
One of the more encouraging signs for the future are the young people who understand and attend, as well as the Australian citizens who emigrated post war and are part of the fabric of ANZAC day.
My only beef with the good Mr Bogle .... and I love his words and music ..... is his overt left wing politics!
And he's a bloody Scot!!!!!
bordfryr
Reply #14 Friday, April 25, 2003 2:47 AM
Reply #14 Friday, April 25, 2003 2:47 AM
I recently saw the movie "Gallipoli" with Mel Gibson. Very good. I highly reccomend it. Tragic ending, though.
Xerraire
Reply #15 Friday, April 25, 2003 6:17 AM
Reply #15 Friday, April 25, 2003 6:17 AM
Sounds a lot like our Memorial Day or Veterns Day in the US than our July 4th?
werewolf
Reply #17 Friday, April 25, 2003 7:39 AM
Reply #17 Friday, April 25, 2003 7:39 AM
JAFO, I've never read all the lyrics to Waltzing Matilda before, I had no idea what that song was about before. It certainly is a very moving, sad song. Thanks for sharing that.
paxx
Reply #18 Friday, April 25, 2003 7:39 AM
Reply #18 Friday, April 25, 2003 7:39 AM
Yes, Jafo, as a Canadian, I understand.
During WW2, the Canadian troops were used as decoys with the whole German army waiting for them on the coast of Dieppe, Normandie, while the "real" troops were landing somewhere else. Needless to say, Canada's participation to WW2 is very sour to a lot of Canadians.
During WW2, the Canadian troops were used as decoys with the whole German army waiting for them on the coast of Dieppe, Normandie, while the "real" troops were landing somewhere else. Needless to say, Canada's participation to WW2 is very sour to a lot of Canadians.
wombat_1
Reply #20 Friday, April 25, 2003 8:11 AM
Reply #20 Friday, April 25, 2003 8:11 AM
paax, the Canadians were mauled needlessly at Dieppe in 1943 ... as were most of the forces participating in what was a 'raid in strength' .... pretty much a 'Commando Operation' on a fairly large scale.
During the real Invasion of Normandy in June 1944, the bulk of the British and Commonwealth forces landed at Sword, Gold and Juno beaches, not quite as heavily defended and certainly less difficult terrain than the areas were the main US forces came ashore .... Omaha beach in particular.
Boxxi, 'Commonwealth' troops were regarded (by the British General Staff and Kitchener in particular!) as expendable and to a degree as second rate forces in WW1 ... the unfortunate Indian troops who were captured at Singapore found themselves 'discarded' by Wavell, who informed the Japanese that they were not covered by the Geneva Convention!
"Forward!" they cried, from the rear, and the front rank died ..... >
During the real Invasion of Normandy in June 1944, the bulk of the British and Commonwealth forces landed at Sword, Gold and Juno beaches, not quite as heavily defended and certainly less difficult terrain than the areas were the main US forces came ashore .... Omaha beach in particular.
Boxxi, 'Commonwealth' troops were regarded (by the British General Staff and Kitchener in particular!) as expendable and to a degree as second rate forces in WW1 ... the unfortunate Indian troops who were captured at Singapore found themselves 'discarded' by Wavell, who informed the Japanese that they were not covered by the Geneva Convention!
"Forward!" they cried, from the rear, and the front rank died ..... >
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Reply #1 Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:27 PM