They didn’t want to be there,

Not now, in mud and teeming rain.

At first they thought it would be fun

To wear a uniform and have a gun,

To be a soldier and to fight

Until the war was won.

“Serve your country, lads,”

They heard the recruiting officer say,

“We need you now, so join up,

Here’s your kit, now on your way.”

They were so young, adventurous,

Courageous and so keen.

So unaware of all the heartache, 

Sights they’d never seen.

It’s cold and dirty in that hole,

There’s blood and so much pain.

Mates lie dead and dying,

What did this carnage gain?

But orders – they must be obeyed

So on and on they tread,

They hear the noise of battle,

Hear the bullets overhead.

Their thoughts go back to family,

To loved ones left behind, but

That ANZAC SPIRIT spurs them on

To finish, so brave of mind.

They are hungry, dirty, thirsty,

But the job is not yet done.

These young men, now much wiser,

Fight for liberty and peace

And follow the flag before them,

Praying soon ALL wars will cease.

Their lives have changed forever.

Yes, they’ve been to hell and back.

They’ll remember good and bad times,

How they carried gun and pack.

Striving for the victory

‘Tho they saw their comrades fall,

Still, they say they’d do it over

For that SPIRIT lives in all.