i dont believe in war
today is the day australians and new zealanders
celebrate/mourn/remember our fallen countrymen
when i was growing up we were told they were our glorious dead
we were encouraged to believe that war was necessary part of life
and that if the empire called
we should give our lives gladly
im sorry
i never swallowed this propaganda
there is a park near here..the kids play there sometimes
a little monument to the young men
whose lives came to an inglorious end in turkey or europe
during WW1
there is an unusual name mckellar or something
and there are 5 or 6 of them there
some woman lost her father and her brothers and her sons
one after another mown down in some foreign mud somewhere…
can any one here tell me why those MILLIONS of young men died?
for the empire?
for the glory?
for the adventure?
to stop the bloody hun?
to me it seems an incredible inexplicable tragedy
that great war oh what a great war we’re having…
barbed wire
mustard gas
machine guns
dysentry
mud
blood
guts
decay
pain and screaming
firing squads for deserters we now realise were shell-shocked
rah rah rah!
good old lord kitchener and his generals….tally ho
we’ll give em what for eh boys?
keep dodging those bullets for another 4 years
youll get a little medal and maybe a pension
im sorry
i dont believe in war
miserymaker heartbreaker lovetaker
gallipoli, vietnam, crimea, korea
they keep selling us this lie
that war can solve things
that war is the only way
that its manly that its our duty
those young men who lost their lives
all of them
yes they were brave
yes they were courageous
yes they did their duty and made the ultimate sacrifice
but what good did it do?
we fought n fought for a few muddy miles in france
my grandfathers too
it was a lie
that they needed to die
we lied
the enemy lied
the kings horses n men lied
it was gruesome and pointless
in the way we attempt to glorify these dead soldiers
is contained the implication
that to die in some useless war is a worthy end
one can aspire to it…
so next time someone needs some dirtywork done
there will be more young men
to fling against the enemy
while the unscrupulous belligerent cowards
sit safe at home
unconcerned for the lady in bondi who lost every male member
of her family
wanna go to iraq?
saddams got the wmds i hear…
ok all aboard lets go!
cmon dont be slow
no need to wonder why
whoopee
we’re all gonna die!