Come gather you Spartans come gather with me
A brother has fallen come stand quietly
Come stand by his side and honour him now
Honour this Spartan who honoured his vow

Lift up his body and carry him proud
Lift up his spear and his sword to the clouds
Carry his honour, shield him from drama
Carry him back lads, back home to Sparta

Tell all the people from far and from wide
John has now fallen, our friend has just died
Tell the newspapers a Spartan has passed
He wasn’t the first and he won’t be the last

And now to his family we wish to stress
That John was the finest, the best of the best
We’re proud to have served with such a fine lad
And only the angels and God are now glad

But thinking of John as we move from this place
Think of that smile all over his face
Raise up a glass of fortified wine
He’d want us to smile and have a good time

So onwards and upwards we go on from here
We celebrate life with stories and beer
Remembering John as we always will
One hell of an act and hard shoes to fill

Raise up your glasses …… To John