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When the bodies were bagged and the telegrams sent
And the very last chopper had gone
And you looked out the window of the 707 on the airfield in Saigon,
Some of us thought that the war was over
Some of us couldnât care less;
But you came home and threw a stay-behind party to try to clear up the mess.
I donât know where you are tonight.. Iâm down here in a firefightâ¦
But where-ever you are, I hope youâre safe behind the wire.
We were fighting for freedom in South-East Asiaâ¦. Thatâs how the story ran;
Windy speeches about a domino falling from China into Vietnamâ¦
But look back in sickness and anger,
Australia didnât honour her debt;
And non-commission Officer Thompson learned that the war wasnât over yet.
Living on your nerves, living on the phone and sleeping in airports far from homeâ¦.
Dusted off now and safe behind the wire.
Well he have and he gave and he kept on giving, till he just couldnât give anymore;
And he gave it away one morning in Sydney in a rust-red Commodoreâ¦
And I remember Phill best talking on the phone,
With a cheeky grin on his faceâ¦.
Because Royal Commissioners and Knights of the Realm
Thought that Phill didnât know his place.
And theâre still bagging bodies, Phill, though fourteen years have gone;
And the mums and the dads and the wives and the kids still have to soldier on.
- Album:
- Behind the Lines