BEFORE YOU GO

Quietly you’ve all turned grey
You did you job, you saved our way,
Our life and freedom you preserved,
We’ve thanked you less than you’ve deserved.
You never boasted, bragged or asked,
For adulation for your past.
You did the job you knew was right,
And quietly you cry at night,
For bodies maimed and comrades lost,
For sights beyond our furthest thoughts,
For what you lived and felt and seen,
For what the cost of freedom means,
You leave us blessed with every breath,
That cost you arms and legs and deaths,
You won the worst and greatest war,
We owe you more,
We owe you more.

Thank you for your wondrous feats,
For open speech and quiet streets,
For worship as we choose to pray
For preservation of our way.
Before you go we need to shout,
For in your silence, we still know,
What you accomplished and what you did,
For who we are and how we live.
So go with love from wives and sons, and daughters,
For a job well done,
From kids who’ve never seen a tank,
We give you thanks,
We give you thanks.

For homes and jobs and football games
For many colours, for many names,
You saved our lives, and we’re still free,
From shining sea, to shining sea.
Thank you – go in peace.