And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda - The Pogues, Stiff Records, 1985

When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day
How the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again

Now those that were left, well we tried to survive
In a mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
But around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
Then turned all their faces away

And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams of past glory
And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore
The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And their ghosts may be heard as you pass the Billabong
Who'll come-a-waltzing Matilda with me?

ANZAC Day 2006

On 25 April 1915, eight months into the First World War, Allied soldiers landed on the shores of the Gallipoli peninsula. This was Turkish territory that formed part of Germany's ally, the Ottoman Empire. The troops were there as part of a plan to open the Dardanelles Strait to the Allied fleets, allowing them to threaten the Ottoman capital Constantinople (now Istanbul) and, it was hoped, force a Turkish surrender. The Allied forces encountered unexpectedly strong resistance from the Turks, and both sides suffered enormous loss of life.

The forces from New Zealand and Australia, fighting as part of the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), played an important part in the Gallipoli campaign. At its beginning, people at home greeted with excitement the news that our soldiers were at last fully engaged in the war. New Zealand soldiers distinguished themselves with their courage and skill, establishing an enduring bond with the Australians they fought alongside.

The Gallipoli campaign was, however, a costly failure for the Allies, who after nine months abandoned it and evacuated their surviving troops. Almost a third of the New Zealanders taking part had been killed; the communities they came from had counted the cost in the lengthy casualty lists that appeared in their newspapers. And the sacrifice seemed to have been in vain, for the under-resourced and poorly-conducted campaign did not have any significant influence on the outcome of the war.

Although Anzac Day, the anniversary of the first day of conflict, does not mark a military triumph, it does remind us of a very important episode in New Zealand's history. Great suffering was caused to a small country by the loss of so many of its young men. But the Gallipoli campaign showcased attitudes and attributes - bravery, tenacity, practicality, ingenuity, loyalty to King and comrades - that helped New Zealand define itself as a nation, even as it fought unquestioningly on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire.

After Gallipoli, New Zealand had a greater confidence in its distinct identity, and a greater pride in the international contribution it could make. And the mutual respect earned during the fighting formed the basis of the close ties with Australia that continue today.

Some Anzac Numbers

260 - days of the Gallipoli Campaign

8556 - NZ forces landed: 4852 NZ forces wounded, 2721 NZ forces fatalities

8709 - Australian forces fatalities

33,072 - fatalities from all British forces

10,000* - French fatalities

87,000* - Turkish fatalities

*estimates

Many more New Zealanders were killed on the Western Front (12,483). However, the 2721 New Zealanders who were killed represented one in four of those who took part in the campaign. This represents the highest percentage of fatalities of any First World War campaign in which New Zealanders fought.

We remember those who fought and fell in all the wars that New Zealand has been involved in. In the first World War 10% of our total population served in the armed forces, over 100,000. Over 15% never returned home. In the Second World War 8.5% of our population served.

Today, at a time when it seems New Zealanders are increasingly keen to assert and celebrate a unique identity, we recognise Anzac Day as a central marker of our nationhood.
The number of New Zealanders attending Anzac Day events in New Zealand, and at Gallipoli, is increasing. For some younger people, the sombre focus of the day receives less emphasis than do the more celebratory aspects of a national holiday. For most, though, the day is an occasion on which to formally pay tribute and to remember.

Anzac Day now promotes a sense of unity, perhaps more effectively than any other day on the national calendar. People whose politics, beliefs and aspirations are widely different can nevertheless share a genuine sorrow at the loss of so many lives in war, and a real respect for those who have endured warfare on behalf of the country we live in.

Whilst I choose to remember those who gave so much for the folly of war, I also remember why we should never allow such events to destroy again.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning we shall remember them.

The Long & The Short Of It

George FM
Monday 2-4pm
www.georgefm.co.nz



The Pogues - And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda (Stiff) 1985
The Soft Pink Truth - Satie (Herbert's Walk Free rmx) (Soundslike) 2003
Recloose - Landed (Peacefrog) 2005
Me'Shell Ndegeocello - Who Is He To You? (DT's NYDC mx) (WEA) 1996
Subway Baby - Gotta Stop (Q Records) 2001
Green Velvet - Answering Machine (X-Press 2 Direct line mx) (F-111) 2000
The Hustle Brothers - Jacks Groove (Not On Label) 2002
Soul Patrol - Love Variations pt. 1 (Charlie Dark Reconstruction) (Infracom) 2001
Blaze - Lovelee Day (Doc's Wax mix) (Classic) 2002
Summer Transport - Sol parade (Sense Music) 2000
Aaron Carl - Down (Metroplex) 1998
Vencenzo - The Way Of Thinking (Dessous Music) 2001
Black Rascals - Blaze Theme (Sumo Records) 1993
Justin Harris - Hangerang (Lil Mark Remix) (Paranoid Music) 2006
Mr Negative - Star Spangled Banner (Themfreaksaresonegativespeakeasy Freaks rmx) (Crack & Speed) 2003
DJ Tye & Bobby Bounce - Atomic Rmx (Mamas Home Cookin) 2006





Best Taken with Remembrance

The Long & The Short Of It Easter edition

George FM
Monday 2-4pm
www.georgefm.co.nz

Neon Heights - Listen To The Music (Crazy Penis rmx) (Shiva) 2003
Stacy Kidd - Bryant Street (instrumental mx) (Music 101) 2002
Eddie Amador - House Music (Yoshitoshi) 1997
Barrio Brothers - Hold onto My Love (Warehouse mix) (Shaboom) 2001
Eddie Amador - Holy Spirit (Watkins mx) (Shaboom) 2000
Gene Farris - Come On Home (Soma) 2000
Slam - Lifetimes (Soma) 2001
Silicone Soul - Chic-o-laa (Soma) 2000
Chris Issac - Wicked Game (Farina rmx) (Wicked) 2003
Iz & Diz - Mouth (Pepe Braddock rmx) (Classic) 2002
Roy Davis Jnr - About Love (Jon Marsh rmx) (CLassic) 2003
R Brown - Not Like I Used 2 Re-jack (Guess Who) 2006
Justin harris- Hangerang (lil Mark rmx) (Paranoid Music) 2006
DJ linus - Who Stole The Soul (Org weed mix) (Brique Rouge) 2002
Brett Johnson - Better Living Through Chemistry (Magnetic) 2005
Mirwais - Miss You (Thin White Duke rmx) (Echo) 2003
Diz -hen the MArtians Come (Greenskeepers Music) 2000
Soul Patrol - Love Variations pt. 1 (Charlie Dark Reconstruction) (Infracom) 2001



Best Taken with religious tolerance and sucky beatmatching

The Long & The Short Of It

George FM
Monday 2-4pm
www.georgefm.co.nz

Simon Beesting - Merckx Station (SB) 2006
Scoper & Bubba - I'm Satisifed (Wax power Dub) (Classic) 2002
Derrick L Carter - Squaredancing in a Roundhouse (remake) (Classic) 2003
Justin Harris - Hangerang (Paranoid music) 2006
DJ Tye & Bobby Bounce - Aromic rmx (Mammas Home Cookin') 2006
Banana kru - I Live In Camberwell (Atlantic Jaxx) 2000
White Collar Criminals - Wanting You (Johnny Fiasco rmx) (jackin Tracks) 2006
Romanthony - Floorpiece (Glasgow Underground) 2002
Stylus Trouble - Sputnik One (Junior) 2001
UBU - Pixels (Shaboom) 2000
Moodymann - The Thief That Stole My Sad Days (Peacefrog) 2000
Moodymann - LiveinLA 1998 (Peacefrog) 2003
East Village Loft Society - I wanna Sing... Sunshine (Black Sunshine Rec) 1994
Octave One - Blackwater (Full Strings mx) (430 West) 2001
DJ Tye & Bobby Bounce - Fix You (Mammas Home Cookin) 2006
Eclat & Prudo - Free Land (Freestyle man rmx) (Mood Music) 2006



Best Taken with shaky hands and knobbly knees

The Long & The Short Of It

George FM
Monday 2-4pm
www.georgefm.co.nz

Simon Beesting - Merckx Station (SB) 2006
Butthole Surfers - Creep In The Cellar (Touch & Go) 1986
Tortoise - It's All Around You (Thrill Jockey) 2004
HDU - Lull, Dark Restart (DSoundproof rmx) (Flying Nun) 1998
Beta Band - Gone (EMI) 2001
Neon Heights - Are We Through (Larry heard rmx) (Glasgow Underground) 2001
Mojo Project - It's My Life (John Arnold rmx) (lovemonk) 2004
Blair - Life (Derrick Carter rmx) (White) 2004
Moodymann - Tribute (Peacefrog) 2000
Darryl Mcintosh - Somebody Offers (DM) 2006
Simon Beesting - Are You Ready For This (SB) 2006
Tiefschwarz - Mars (Classic) 2003
Arthur Russell - Wild Combination (Nuphonic) 2001
Lidell Townsend & MTF - Get With you (Morales rmx) (Polygram) 1992
Rob Mello - Critical (Classic) 2005
Paul Woolford - Phuck Dat (Jackford Files) 2005
No Assembly Firm - Planetary Invasion (Robsoul) 2005
DJ Sneak - Inside (Winks acid rmx) (Magnetic) 2005
King Kapisi - Screams From The Old Plantation (FMR) 2000
Sisters Underground - In The Neighbourhood (Lamont) 1994



Best Taken with toy trains and small boobs