This haunting ballad is a firm favourite with folkies the world over, especially in Ireland. It tells of the horror of a young Australian man who enlists in the military and is sent to fight in the First World War, only to suffer horrifically in the slaughter that took place at Suvla Bay in Turkey on 6th August, 1915, when the Anzac troops were pulverised by the Turkish forces.

The moral of this beautiful melodic tale is that war is never glorious, not when your friends die before your eyes, not when your legs are blown off, and not when you return home to be looked upon with pity and even contempt. First World War, Second World War, Korea, Vietnam, Irish Occupied Six Counties, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, brave men and women in uniform blindly go to kill and be killed at the behest of be-suited cowards who seek power and profit via the spilling of the blood of others.

As we gaze out upon a world with the likes of Macron and Johnson and Netanyahu and Trump in positions of authority, we might take the time to remember the words of this fine ballad, performed admirably here by Irish balladeer, Liam Clancy.

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