When we were young, without a care,
Our toys amongst us we would share,
Our bows and arrows, slung with laces,
Gun shaped sticks, stuck in our braces,

‘BANG – BANG’ ‘your dead’ the cry would be,
‘OH no I’m not, you can’t kill me,
Co’s I’m a tank, one would protest,
‘Then I’ll shoot you with my fighter jet,

When we were young, the games we’d play,
Had not much bearing on today,
We’d laugh and play and sometimes moan,
But at least we’d all come wandering home,

Little did we realise then,
What we’d become when we were men,
Accountants, Postmen, Teachers all,
Soldiers too, like we were small,

Like any job, we’d train and play,
Until there came that fateful day,
Someone, somewhere, couldn’t bargain or deal,
So we’d have to play this game for real,

When we were young, we knew no fear,
Our mum’s and dad’s would wipe our tears,
They’d keep us safe and sing us songs,
They’d fight our battles and right our wrongs,

But now WE are the mums and dads,
And the children’s faces look so sad,
Their parents lost, they scream and cry,
So it’s up to us, to dry their eyes,

And if along the way we lose,
Our brothers in arms, who gave to choose,
We shed for them our private tears,
For now we know truth’s real fears,

But they are not lost within our hearts,
They do not die, we do not part,
And although they wander home no more,
There is one guarantee for sure,

Our bows and arrows, still we share,
They’re never lost, we’ll always care,
And remember them and sing them songs,
Those who played with us, when we were young!