Talk:And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

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It's Bob Kerrey, not "Kerry".

[edit] "And I ask myself the same question"

I never understood this line to be questioning the commemoration of the war, as the article suggests. I think the song is far too insightful to offer such an iconoclastic and disrespectful slap in the face to war veterans who risked their lives for others. Rather, I always figured this lyric was suggesting that the veteran himself doesn't understand what the point of the war was. WWI in general, and the Gallipoli campaign in particular, are thought to be symbols of the imperial powers' callous disregard for their own citizens and subjects – the British commanders essentially used Australian soldiers as cannon fodder to gain proverbial inches. Hence, the veteran here wonders how all the horror could have been worth it. J21 03:03, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

I pretty much agree. While the song raises the question of whether wars should be fought and glorified, there's nothing remotely anti-veteran about it. What strikes me about that last verse is that the protaganist lost his legs, his youth, and no doubt many friends to one of the bloodiest battles in Australian history, and the kids don't even know what it was about. That'd make any old man look back and wonder if it was worth it. Worth noting, I think, is that when Bogle wrote the song in 1972, the veterans of Gallipoli were all 75+ and not far from "someday, no one will march there at all". Its a very sad and beautiful song. The article could use further work, but since it is so closely tied to ANZAC Day, I'll leave to our friends down under. -Bert 171.159.64.10 03:53, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

I don't know when Bob Kerrey sang the song, but (according to Wikipedia) he ran for presidantial candidacy in 1992. In 1988 he ran for the senate. Good song by the way...