24/04/2026
"THE HORSES STAY BEHIND"
In days to come we'll wander west and cross the range again;
We'll hear the bush birds singing in the green trees after rain;
We'll canter through the Mitchell grass and breast the bracing wind:
But we'll have other horses. Our chargers stay behind.
Around the fire at night we'll yarn about old Sinai;
We'll fight our battles o'er again; and as the days go by
There'll be old mates to greet us. The bush girls will be kind,
Still our thoughts will often wander to the horses left behind.
I don't think l could stand the thought of my fancy hack
Just crawling 'round old Cairo with a 'Gyppo on his back.
Perhaps some English tourist out in Palestine, may find
My broken hearted Waler with a wooden plough behind.
NO; I think l'd better shoot him and tell a little lie:
"He floundered in a wombat hole and then lay down to die."
Maybe l'll get court-martialled; but l'm damned if l'm inclined
To go back to Australia and leave my horse behind.
~ Trooper Bluegum
This ANZAC Day, we remember the horses, who also made the ultimate sacrifice.
Lest We Forget šŗš
