Forgotten wars

Dropping the kids off this morning, I listened in the car to the Pogues version of this old song:

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 mached me away to the war...

And so now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me.
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march,
Reviving old dreams of past glory.
And the old men marched slowly, all bones stiff and sore,
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war,
And the young people ask,"What are they marching for?",
And I ask meself the same question.

A sad old ballad that brought a lump to my throat. It's been doing that for the past few days.

1733 Also posted to: warBlog . At: 10:10:32 AM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Sad old soldiers   We will always remember them