First Day As A soldier Boy

After volunteering for the army

First day as a soldier boy

 

I’m remembering that awful day

In ninety sixty eight

I’d just moved to Australia

Some three months fore this date

When I signed up to join the army

To serve my brand new home

Thinking of that grand old saying

About when ‘ones in Rome’

 

In January sixty eight

They flew us to Victoria

To a little place called Pukka Punyal

That’s where we waited for

A bus to take us to Kapooka

Where we’d learn to fight and stuff

Oh, we were getting quite excited

It couldn’t come soon enough.

 

Soon we board the army bus

Where we have some drinks and all

And as we’re all so very happy

{It all seemed wonderful}

One lad got out his old guitar

And we sang a lot of songs

It seemed to break the journey up

That journey was quite long.

 

Then we arrived at  training camp

All smiling happily

But this was where it went Pear shape

Oh how he frightened me

This great big burley hunk of man

They called him corporal

And oh, my god it looked to me

He was as mean as he was tall.

 

He bellowed down at us poor wimps

And his nostrils bellowed fire

I felt my heart sink to the ground

I saw all the desire

To be a soldier, leave my mind

Oh, I just wanted out

But it seemed that fate had chosen me

Too see what war’s about.