The Remembrance, by Jake Thackray

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Pam from Stourbridge writes, “Thanks for the latest offering from Civilisation 3000.

“Please would you watch this http://bit.ly/1ugj5jw from Youtube? It’s a version of a song by one of my heroes, Jake Thackray, and here it’s sung by a 16year old boy, Will Thompson, accompanying himself on the guitar. I think he may have put the whole thing together himself. I’ve also heard him sing it live, and it sends shivers down my spine every time, especially the following words:

“how we all looked up to see the curious face of the enemy:
Who was young, and shabby, and seemed to be
About as foreign as you or me”

“All the experience of the varied military action taken by the west in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya shows that such interventions kill innocents, destroy infrastructure and fragment societies, and in the process spread bitterness and violence”. (Letter to The Guardian 23.9.14, signed by Caroline Lucas MP and 27 others)

All stills from the Youtube video and the lyrics thanks to http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=85208

Remember the bands and the grand parades,
The flags, the banners, the fine cockades,
And how we all looked up to see the King upon the balcony:
Who told us we were young and brave,
We’d never become the Foreigner’s slave –
If the Foreigner comes off best, he said,
You’ll be better off dead…

…and this was a couple of weeks before we got killed in the war.

Remember the drums and the trumpets played
When we set sail on the great crusade,
And how we all looked up to see the Clergyman on the quay:
Who told us we were grand and good
To fight for God, as good men should –
If the Enemy comes off best, he said,
You’ll be better off dead…

…and this was a couple of days before we got killed in the war.

Remember the night before the raid
When the guns began the cannonade,
And how we all looked up to see the Captain of the company:
Who told us we were bold and strong,
Let fame and glory spur us on –
If the Enemy comes off best, he said,
You’ll be better off dead…

…and this was a couple of hours before we got killed in the war.

Remember the shock of the ambuscade,
Remember the terrible fusillade,
And how we all looked up to see the curious face of the Enemy:
Who was young, and shabby, and seemed to be
About as foreign as you or me –
I never did catch what the poor sod said
When he made sure we were dead…

…and this was a couple of shakes before we got killed in the war.

 

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