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Farewell To Anzac


Oh, hump your swag and leave, lads, the ships are in the bay —
We've got our marching orders now, it's time to come away —
And a long good-bye to Anzac Beach — where blood has flowed in vain
For we're leaving it, leaving it, game to fight again!

But some there are will never quit this bleak and bloody shore —
And some that marched and fought with us will fight and march no more;
Their blood has bought till Judgment Day the slopes they stormed so well,
And we're leaving them, leaving them, sleeping where they fell.

(Leaving them, leaving them — the bravest and the best —
leaving them, leaving them, and maybe glad to rest!
We've done our best with yesterday, to-morrow's still our own —
But we're leaving them, leaving them, sleeping all alone!)

Ay, they are gone beyond it all, the praising and the blame,
And many a man may win renown, but none more fair a fame;
They showed the world Australia's lads knew well the way to die;
And we're leaving them, leaving them, quiet where they lie.

(Leaving them, leaving them, sleeping where they died;
Leaving them, leaving them, in their glory and their pride —
Round the sea and barren land, over them the sky,
Oh, We're leaving them, leaving them, quiet where they lie!)

Notes

From "Fighting Men" (Elkin Mathews 1916) pp 51-52.
Also reprinted in a book of World War 1 poetry called WAR VERSE, edited by Frank Foxcroft, published by Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New York, US, © 1918, pp. 153-154, and originally printed in the magazine "The Spectator."

This poem focuses on the abandonment of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in 1916. Thousands of Australian troops were mowed down by the Turks, and there were bitter recriminations resulting from this failed invasion.

Charley Noble

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Comments

1 - 7 of 7

  • I-Like-Rhymes Moderators member
    April 24
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    This poem written shortly after the events at Gallipoli was one of the first I read by this very British poet and for me it is one of her best non-nautical poems.
    The repetition matches the weary trudging of the soldiers marching away from a bloody but futile battle and getting ready to fight another!


  • Charley Noble Moderators member
    January 4, 2008
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    And the Turkish Point of View?

    No doubt there is another point of view, of the Turkish troops who successfully defended Gallipoli. I seem to remember reading that the initial invasion lingered on the beachhead for an inordinate period of time, providing the Turks enough time to bring in substantial reinforcements. But that's just second-guessing history and I really wasn't there.

    Charley Noble

  • Master Domtos rose
    March 18, 2006
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    It is surprising to me that a British poet can capture so well the essence of Anzac. The line They showed the world Australia's lads knew well the way to die is particularly stirring (well to me, anyway, since I am Australian).

  • ea Moderators member
    November 12, 2005
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    I love that term "hump your swag" -- it's so casual yet forceful.


  • rufina caraid Moderators member
    November 11, 2005
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    Comments transcribed from a duplicated copy of poem:
    \ Vonnie on Jun 09, 7:36 p.m.
    Try a little Oldpoetry its good for the....., 5559 critiques. said:
    How poignant is this?
    "Leaving them, Leaving them", I feel that this repetition is the heart of the poem. It seems, to me, to reflect perhaps the thoughts of the survivors as they walked away from Anzac Beach on 19th December 1915. A few days earlier Kitchener himself walked along Anzac Beach surrounded by a gaggle of Generals etc: Kitchener speaking to the troops " ‘The King has asked me to tell you how splendidly he thinks you have done, you have done splendidly, better even than I thought you would’. . I don't know how they would have felt about this comment but I do feel that their final day here would have been filled with a myriad of emotions.

    The poet has captured those final thoughts within this poem, she wasn't there herself, it's her perception of the time, the day, the gut-wrenching upheaval, and the relief of these men who survived this battle scene – only to go on to the next and the next.

    One of the most profound poems which have affected me personally in a very long time.

    Von

    NeverGiveUp on Jun 09, 11:20 p.m.
    Sanity is overrated... but so are a lot of things, 4070 critiques. said:
    I would almost say this could be sung as lyrics perhaps (or maybe they have been). The repetition of certain phrases is what makes me think that.

    history on Jun 26, 11:52 p.m. said: (220.238.203.104)
    wonderfully described

  • Legend
    October 26, 2005
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    Strange that we tend to forget the huge sacrifices made by The anzac troops.this is surly a well deserved tribute to those great men

  • rufina caraid Moderators member
    October 25, 2005
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    Lieutenant Oliver Hogue, 14th Light Horse Regiment, NSW wrote:
    Ah, well! We’re gone! We’re out of it now. We’ve got something else to do.
    But we all look back from the transport deck to the land-line far and blue:
    Shore and valley are faded; fading are cliff and hill;
    The land-line we called “Anzac” . . . and we’ll call it “Anzac” still!


    poignant poem and Hogue's words sums up my feelings exactly.

    Von

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