Eric Bogle - The Band Played Waltzing Matilda | AUSTRALIAN MUSIC REACTION 

I am really enjoying these Australian music reactions. Every song and performance I have watched so far has just been of the highest quality from the voice of the performer to the meaning of the lyrics. This was no different. In fact it is one of my favourites so far. Eric's voice really captured the meaning of the song so perfectly. He was able to convey the grittiness of the song as well capturing the emotion of what he is singing about and paint a graphic picture. Recommend me some more music from him and tell me what you thought about this one. Thanks

I was born in Dundee Scotland, family came to Australia in 1962 when I was 3 1/2 years old and the ANZACs are not forgotten here. You cannot live here and not be affected by the history, it becomes part of you. During the pandemic no gathering was allowed, so for the Dawn Service we stood at the end of our driveways and listened to the radio to commemorate our fallen.

My grandfather fought in World War 1. He never marched in the Anzac Parades until his 80s, after he started to get dementia. Before that, he was too angry and upset over the stupid loss, so my Mum told me. He never respected England or the Royal Family again. He was at Gallipoli and nearly every major battle in France, as so many Aussies were. World War 1 was just a bloodbath. My Granddad was shot in 3 different battles in France, through the arm, the leg and then finally, through the neck. He survived them all although the neck paralysed him for 3 months . His diaries are so graphic. The mud, bodies, his best mate dying, the "mountain" he saw one night at the hospital after he was shot in the leg. He saw the next day that the mountain was actually a pile of bodies waiting to be buried after the brutal battle. He was sent to England after he was paralysed, and after a few weeks started regaining feeling. Eventually the doctors put him to work in the hospital to build up his strength and he learnt to dress wounds. Unbelievably, although he would still get sudden weakness in his left side, he was sent back to the front as an ambulance driver! He wasn't sent to fight because his "dropsies" meant he might drop his rifle, but apparently he was fine enough to occasionally drop badly wounded soldiers. He didn't marry until he was nearly 50, because the doctors constantly predicted his death from his neck wound. I'm his youngest grandchild and vaguely remember him. I asked my Grandmother one day if he was angry at what he went through. She said yes, but some days he was more angry, and confused that he had survived when most of his mates hadn't, and what a waste it was. I always think of him during this song and think that if he had heard it, he would weep for all the young men he knew who never came home. Thank you for playing this and listening with such respect.

Gallipoli is ingrained into us Aussies as a devastatingly high number young men from here died in wars far from our shores . I tear up every time I hear this !

He is Scottish born and migrated to Australia as a young adult and been here since. His writing and his singing delivery really hit home. Circular Quay is in Sydney.

The graphic images this song puts in our heads, is the exact reason we Aussies and New Zealanders love this song - our future generations can't say "we didn't know", because this song, and "I was only 19" makes sure they do know what war is truly like with the bandaid ripped off. My grandkids, and hopefully their grandkids will still be going to ANZAC day marches 25th April, and still bowing their heads in remembrance on Armistice Day / Memorial Day (depending on your generation) 11am 11th day of the 11th month because of these songs, that all Aussies share and listen to. Lest We Forget

Australia suffered nearly 18% casualties (not including injured) of its forces, and New Zealand was just over 18% compared to Great Britain and Ireland at 12.5% and the USA at 5%. That's one of the reasons WW1 has such a big impact on us.

In one song Eric Bogle can paint an image and instill the emotions of one of the worst times in history. People can learn a lot from his words.

If "I was only 19" kicks the heart like a mule, then "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" hits like a runaway freight train. No one has no hope in hell of weathering the pain of this one. One thing came from WW1 and that is a closeness of friendship and respect between Australia and Turkey, many Turkish families moved to settle in Australia.

When he wrote this in 1971 Anzac Day was suffering due to the utter stupidity of our involvement in the Vietnam War & had fallen out of favour to a small extent. Now, thousands attend Dawn Services & the Anzac Parade, not to celebrate war but to celebrate the sacrifice of all service men and women & songs like this reinforce why, as a nation, we have never fought in a war of our own making.

Can’t listen to this song without ever crying no matter who’s singing it, the Dubliners, Liam Clancy, the pogues, Eric Bogle is a special songwriter, both my grandfathers fought at Gallipoli, my dads dad also fought in WW11, this should be an Anzac Day anthem

Waltzing Matilda is Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing) with one's belongings in a swag (matilda), it's an old poem by the very late and very great poet Banjo Paterson, although there is speculation about this. Later the poem was turned into an Aussie folk song in which Eric describes the ANZACs are listening too.

I am.a younger !Australian but most Australians know the odds were against us at Gallipolli but ours fought on. We lost so many. RIP and may we never forget 🙏

Australia is SO blessed to be made up of people who have come from all over the world. So not only do we claim them as Aussies but they can be loved and admired by the lands in which they were born. And by everyone else who loves their music. This song makes me cry every time I hear it. I’m a 2nd gen Pom on dads side and Scottish and Australian on mums. Thanku for you lovely reaction.🇦🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Eric Bogle (born 23 September 1944) is a Scottish-born Australian folk singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25, to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle's songs have covered a variety of topics and have been performed by many artists. Two of his best known songs are "No Man's Land" (or "The Green Fields of France") and "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", with the latter named one of the APRA Top 30 Australian songs in 2001, as part of the celebrations for the Australasian Performing Right Association's 75th anniversary.- according to Wikipedia

Aussies have always been great storytellers. Music is a big part of Australian culture. Thank you for taking the time to listen to these songs, not like others who react but don't really listen.

Thanks so much for appreciating this.The small country towns in Australia all have their war memorials, which get floral wreaths every Anzac Day. War had such an impact on these farming communities. But, happy to say, attendance at Anzac Day marches is still strong.

Australian culture generally is very good at accepting the harsh reality of war. Our ANZAC day and Remembrance Day aren't treated as celebrations but as commemorations full of sombre reflection and respect. These types of songs both reflect and encourage that culture and keep it alive. The battle of Gallipoli was a harsh lesson for Australia, and we refuse to forget, and ever other battle of every war since has only reinforced the seriousness of war. The celebratory patriotic fanfare, hero worshipping, and flag waving that some other cultures prefer to use to glorify their military and war vets, is seen by most Aussies as tasteless at best, offensive at worst, and just flat out wrong all round.

This song gets me every time😢 So grateful to the men and women who give their lives for us. ANZACS 🇦🇺🇰🇾

I'm a Vietnam vet, and this song never fails to make me cry. Please link to other songs by him, he's well worth listening to.

Gallipoli By the time the campaign ended, more than 130,000 men had died: at least 87,000 Ottoman soldiers and 44,000 Allied soldiers, including more than 8700 Australians. Among the dead were 2779 New Zealanders, about a sixth of all those who had landed on the peninsula nobody wins in war. Peace out.

My great grandfather was killed in WW1, but officially went 'missing in action' as his body was never found. Probably shelled to smithereens. Thing is he left 12 children and a wife, my grandmother being the eldest child. His war widow did not receive a war widow's pension for 2 years because the Australia government of the day held the view of no body, no pension. My grandmother and her younger sister left school aged 13 and 12 and went into service as maids. Grandma told me it was the Chinese immigrants who had a market garden that kept them fed with cabbages and onions. So much for conscription. He also fought in the Boar War. His returning WW1 comrades built them a little 4 roomed cottage in Sans Souci when the war was over.

I remember my dad who was a WW2 veteran and wasn’t always well watch the ANZAC Day march on TV. He had tears rolling down his face. I felt like I was intruding on something really personal and left the room. I wish now I had of hugged him so tight 😢😢

Thousands of people young and old, march on ANZAC Day, April 25th every year all over Australia. Things may well have been different in the 1970's when the song was written. A challenging story beautifully told.☮️

I'm still in my 50s, my paternal grandfather fought in Palestine in the 1st Light Horse in WW1 and I try to pass this history to my kids in their 20s to remember and respect our service personnel.

Your reactions are so genuine and heartfelt❣️This song always reminds me that my Great Uncle survived Gallipoli and was sent to the western front where he was gassed with mustard gas. He died young from lung disease as a result. His mother's family migrated from Scotland in 1840. I think they came from Stirling. Eric wrote another one made famous by The Furies. They call it Green Fields of France. He called it No Man's Land. It starts " So how do you do Private William McBride? Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside and rest for a while in the warm summer sun. I've been walking all day and I'm nearly done".

This is an Eric Bogle original. Yes he's Scottish, but he has spent a lot of time in Australia. Cheers m8!

Eric Bogle was born in Peebles and moved to Adelaide when he was 25. Another great song he wrote is "As If He Knows" - a war song not about the men but about the horses and, for animal lovers, a tear jerker. A great reaction as always, MSTV. There's a live performance on YT, but just the sound, and there are several of the actual recording.

He tells it like it is. They were our sons. Always will be. Guts me every time. 😢

I saw Eric Bogle years ago at the Port Fairy Folk Festival where I first heard this song. Still moves me when I hear it. Thanks for your love of Australiana. I'm a ten pound Pom and my mum is Scottish so you've got a huge fan base here!

Truly just one of the greatest songwriters in the world - check out the massive back catalogue even if you don't react - he's touching, hilarious, empathetic, passionate with just a simple turn of phrase. The amazing way he uses the phrase/meaning of 'Waltzing Matilda' between a song, walking around and an Australian iconic touchstone is just masterful. He is an absolute one off.

An interesting fact is that ANZAC day marches are actually still doing really well. The original soldiers may have now died out, but their descendants keep their memory alive.

As an Australian this song which highlights at least two of our most precious Australian national symbols, the battles of the Gallipoli campaign and the song of Waltzing Matilda, it really cuts deep every time one hears it. A very sad song and very poignant but strangely uplifting and creating a sense of brotherhood and nationhood among most Australians that listen to it.

This always brings me to tears, we lost our great uncle at Gallipoli, he was just 17 years old. He convinced his mother to sign the papers saying he could go. So much sadness 😭😭

My Dad is a WW11 Veteran who is still alive. He joined 4 times underage. One the 4th attempt he got in. He had his 16 the birthday fighting in the jungle of New Guinea. They found out his age when he got really sick then had his leg and hip full of lead. Home he went.Soon as he recovered he joined with General MacArthur in Sydney and went right through to the Battle Of Leyte Gulf. He was 18 in that battle. This song brings him to tears as he was five years old when his dad died from the horrific effects of WW1 also he thinks of his mates that didn’t come home. He marches still on Anzac Day for them, not himself ❤ Thank you for playing this

The Gallipoli campaign is ingrained in our psyche as Australians. Some say it was the true birth of our country. We commemorate every year on 25 April, the anniversary of the landings at dawn. Our Dawn Services on Anzac Day are incredibly beautiful, powerful and emotional.

Eric Bogle, brings that wonderful folk music, storytelling vibe, with him from Scotland. We have that in our history, but technically it all comes from the the British settlers,. It's become very uniquely Australian, but that's where the roots of it lie. Thank you for such a wonderful reaction, I'm still wiping tears. ❤

Your reaction was perfect. I love your appreciation of the Australian feeling. This is the most beautiful beautiful song, and you absolutely got it. Thank you.

Be proud of your Country and Countrymen Matt. Yeah mate, Mr Bogle is Scooish.

OMG, EVERY time I see this song I cry. Thanks Matt. If you want more Aussie storytellers, look no further than John Williamson and Troy Casser-Daley. Icons.

I first saw Eric Bogle in the 70's. He's a wonderful singer and writer - my grandfathers and other members of my family came from Scotland. My great uncle came from Campbell Town, arrived in Australia in 1910 and married a young Englishwoman and had two children before joining the Ist AIF and went to Gallipoli in mid 1915, was wounded and would endure another three years of war. He was mortally wounded near Ypres and now lies in an Australian war grave back in Campbell Town. This song always chokes me up.

When I was a lad in the 1970's there were still blokes with one leg on crutches getting about. Some with no legs in wheel chairs. One with no legs, and one arm who had a chair with a crank handle with steering mechanism to drive it along. Some of them were WW2 veterans, but most were from WW1. The Streets around my Grandmother's house were called things like Gezireh St, Heliopolis St, Gallipoli Parade etc because my late Grandfather had fought at Ypres, and it was a Returned Soldiers Village. Some of those old blokes wore their medals every day. Some of them sold them in exchange for beer money. A lot of them drank a lot of beer because the war pensions didn't really cover the fact that a man can go crazy surrounded by frozen corpses under drumfire whilst up to your knees in semi frozen sewage.

He is Scottish. He emigrated when he was 25. Thank you for doing this one. Like "I was Only 19", it's a heartbreaking, but important message.

Mat, I'd just like to point out that, the fact we have so many talented Scottish born Aussies, isn't lost on a lot of us older generation. We don't just have Eric Bogle, but Jimmy Barnes, Colin Hay (lead singer of Men At Work) Bon Scott (original lead singer AC/DC), Isla Fischer (Actress), We even have a very well loved old VFL/ AFL song, that's still sung on special occasions today called "Up there Cazaly" which is a song written about a Scottish born famous VFL footballer named Roy Cazaly, as well as I'm pretty sure a Scotsman composed our Australian nation anthem? ( I might be wrong about that one, I just remember something about it from primary school days lol), and I'm sure there are many other successful born Scottish Aussies throughout our history- we have a very close connection with Scotland, more than what a lot of people realise here in Aus. You being so surprised that so many well loved Aussies, are actually born Scots, is quite funny to me, because you're a talented bunch over there, and we've got the proof over here lol

Good on ya mate ! I appreciate your Reaction to this Song ,So Specially Compiled & Sung from Eric Bogle ! As as Old Aussie Digger of Irish,Scottish & English background but with Family Military history is So very Special to Us all ! Yes beautifully Sung with Heart ,Soul & Emotion poured into it ,Touches us deeply Every time this Song is Sung & heard ! Thank U again for a Great Reaction from U & playing it for us all ! Keep em Coming ,Great Work ! Cheers from Aus !

I went to see ericbogle live in wollongong, australia in 1981 He played this, fantastic So proud to b australian Australia 🇦🇺 🪃 🇦🇺 🪃 🇦🇺 🪃

I always shed tears when I hear this song. As I nurse I think of those young men who went and fought and so many didn’t return and those that did had scars, many seen and others internal. My heart goes out to all the brave men and woman who go to war so that we can live free. So moving💔😥

He is a Scotsman who moved to Australia when he was in his mid 20s.Thos song makes me cry every time it is an absolute brilliant story telling event so vividly.

Best anti war song ever as a new Australian 5 when I came here I went every dawn ANZAC service I loved it and as a Croatian I am fortunate to be an Aussie and super proud wogs are the best Aussies

All of the ANZAC troops in WW1 were volunteers, we did not have conscription and to serve outside of Australia required the individual to volunteer to do so. I think we lost about a third of our young men, my grandfather served in that horror, he would never talk about it and would never march on ANZAC Day, he had a number of bravery, (and other) medals, I never saw them until after his passing.

If you are looking at Aussie singers, you can't not hear Guurumul. He was amazing. This is my personal favourite, Bapa, about his Dad. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gyAa1-jOZpI.html

Thank you so much for covering this song. As my grandfather was a Gallipoli veteran who was literally wounded by Johnny Turk 15 minutes after he landed ion 1915 and his feelings about the RSL I understand the later lyrics of this song

Wow this song says it all. The horror of war and the lives not only lost but those who survive really never recover from the horrors of it. ANZAC DAY is not a celebration though it is to honor those who died and thank those who served. We Will Remember Them. Thank you for your understanding and wanting to know about some of our Australian history through music. waiving from Australia

About 10 or 12 years ago, I was in a stage production that performed songs about war, I chose to sing this with my son accompanying me on guitar, similar to this video. When I had finished, there was absolute silence for a moment before the applause. I was told afterwards that everyone was in tears, the majority of those in the audience had someone who never came home from WW1 I too am Scottish born, coming to Australia at age 9 in 1954. I chose to sing this song to honor my own Scottish ancestors that fought in, with some never coming back from, Gallipoli.

Eric Bogle is a Scottish/Australian legend and this song, perhaps the ultimate anti-war song, must be his best. The performance you've used is perhaps the best and shows the maturity of his performance. Your reaction and analysis is the best I've seen and shows your understanding of the gravity of the events portrayed. More please!

Hi Mat I’m so glad you did this version as this is his song and the emotion in his face and voice is spine tingling. By the way when’s the baby coming?!

I had the unbridled pleasure of seeing Eric Bogle perform, just a few short weeks ago. The entire concert was magnificent. Eric's ability to be so succinct with an economy of words, yet so descriptive and evocative at the same time, is gift.

As an Australian, it brings me to tears every time.

Hi Mat, Thanks for reviewing this song. I can not listen to this song without tears. The writing is so strong. I don't want to say we are friends of Eric, more just acquaintances. He is a very amiable, lovely man. Please review "A Gift of Years". It's amazing that Australia needed a Scot to write one of the most powerful songs in our history.

Thus Australian bumped into Eric Bogle in a pub in Edinburgh iplaying a session with a few friends n 1982 and I asked him to play this and he graciously did. June Tabor an English folk singer sings an even more emotionally charged version of this song.

I remember singing this at primary school at an ANZAC Day assembly. So sad to remember what they did for us and what our country went through.

At the start of World War 1 Australia had set very high standards for enlisted men . Only the fittest made it , these were the men sent to Gallipoli. It was our first big military action as Australians. It was our baptism under fire. Our military was a volunteer army. Many of the survivors of Gallipoli were sent to the Western Front.

There’s another song he wrote when he left Scotland and his mother. It’s very sad too. It’s called Wendy Wu. He’s a great song writer.

Respect and memory for the ANZACS. Eric was scottish born and migrated to Australia when he was about 25.

This Song and Eric Bogle create an indelible image of the futility of war !!,

Eric Bogle Was Born in 1944 in Scotland, but moved to Australia in 1969, The song was written in 1971, when Australia was still sending soldiers to the Vietnam war and this was a quiet protest.

He is an Australian Scot who lives about 10 miles north of me. A great song writer as you'll realize. We lost 8,000 and the Turks lost 70,000 but Ataturk payed tribute to the ANZACS and we've been mates since then. First time they identified the dead and buried them at Galllipoli. A tough place to be, no-one talks, you just walk and wonder.

Your reaction to "I was only 19" inspired me to sit and watch the movie "Danger Close" again, which is a movie you want to watch if you're interested in our Aussie troops - Its about the battle of Long Tan (Vietnam war). The song I was only 19, is attached to the end of this movie. A movie worth watching.

I used to sing this in a restaurant and when i did, everyone would stop talking and you could hear a pin drop - it is a song that resonates with many who have lost loved ones to war

Eric Bogle and Redgum have made themselves icons of Australian music with these songs. We Australians are as blown away by them as you are. What made it worse was that in both the First WW and Vietnam boys were conscripted by having their names pulled out of a barrell and sent away. We live so far away from these war zones that most of the boys thought they were going to a great adventure and would come home as heroes. Thanks for your empathetic reaction to the words. Like your channel very much.

Eric Bogle's type of songwriting comes from the traditional folksongs of Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Many many of them tell stories that are sad, or wild, religious or about the Fair Folk. Many are about farming, wooing and (and in an unabashed medieval way) f**king. They're about going to sea, about war, about scamming people, stealing and punishment. All kinds of stories. A Canadian song in the same tradition is The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a freighter that sank on one of the Great Lakes. Some of these lakes are notorious for sinking ships. They are wide enough for wind to pile up mountainous waves, but the lakes can be very shallow. Often not even as deep as a freighter is long. They are so far north the icyiness of the water makes it impossible for people to swim because their bodies go into shock.

The lyrics “no more waltzing Matilda for me” gets me every time. At the beginning of the song the solder is free, walking the bush with his Matilda (bag) on his back……. But “a man needs both legs” 😔 he can no longer physically do what he loves pre-war

This song is actually based on a poem written (unfinished) by an Australian soldier who was at Gallipoli. He survived the Dardanelles campaign and fought across Europe. Sadly, he was killed in action just days before the armistice in 1918.

Just a btw- Wrt WW1 ANZACs per capita captured more territory than any other. 'Combined Arms' warfare was invented by an Australian Gen. Monash and under his command US forces fought one of their first major battles in April 1918.

My great uncle died over in Gallipoli. Thank you for doing this. This song breaks my heart every time.

I’m a proud Australian, these songs bring me to tears. This is what happened, let it not happen again!

The first time I heard this song it was sung by the Irish folk singer Liam Clancy. Liam's version gave me shivers!

On our honeymoon in Ireland the locals assumed I'd know this song. They bullied me into singing it with a guitar gor backing. A very good memory

This is why Americans are so brave. They always stand BEHIND AUSTRALIANS.

If anyone can finish listening to this song without tears in their eyes , they are not alive .

I live in Townsville in the North Queensland, the north of our country. It’s a Garrison city from where our troops traditionally leave for wars or deployment. This song gets me every time I hear it even as a 60 yo of a military family😢 The rash was from Agent Orange which caused a lot of infertility and birth defects in servicemen’s children. 😢 Must see Australian movie, set in Vietnam is Danger Close of a legendary battle our boys were in. It stars Aussie Travis Fimmel who played Ragnor in Vikings. Let me know if you ever watch it. Cheers from Oz. 4:29

Eric is a naturalised Australian and live in South Australia

Thanks so much Matt, that song always makes me cry. I came to Aust as a young adult, been here 49 years. I still miss Ireland but I call Australia home...❤ You've heard of Peter Allen. Listen to "Tenterfield Saddler" it's about his life story also the Tenterfield Saddler business is For Sale. We want it to be heritage listed so it stays as is. It's a living museum with old tools and leather goods. Check it out Matt. Thanks for all your videos, although I'm always in tears...❤❤🇦🇺🙏🦘🙋‍♀️

Some of the best musicians and story tellers we’ve had in Australia have been Scottish immigrants. The young’s notably from AC/DC Colin Hay from men at work, Jimmy Barnes from cold chisel, Eric bogle and the list goes on. Bloody love the Scots, punch so far above their weight on an international stage

The only time you can get a fully grown Australian adult man to cry is when you play one of these songs. RIP the ANZACs and thank you for our freedom, we will remember them. Lest we forget

My maternal great-grandfather was English but lived in Newcastle NSW and married an Australian of British descent. He was in WW1 and when he came home he became universally disliked in the family. I believed he was suffering terrible PTSD but didn't believe in doctors of any kind. He self medicated with alcohol. When asked how she put up with him my great grandmother said, "He wasn't always like this. He was a good man". Tragically sad for hundreds of thousands of young men, from all countries involved, sent to their deaths by politicians.

In the '70's there was quite the anti war sentiment and ANZAC day was on the verge of disappearing, so the line of, 'what are they marching for' was almost the death knell for the parades.. somehow.. then somehow it picked up and became quite popular, I am proud to have attended many Anzac services and always cry with this one.. also A Walk in the Light Green

Eric Bogle is one of my favorite singer/songwriters. "The Green Fields of France" is probably his most popular song and you should definitely listen to it. He wrote so many great songs, "As If He Knows" is also one of my favorites.

Beautiful song, Eric has done a wonderful job with this gut wrenching description of the slaughter which our young men suffered in WW1. This song actually makes me cry every time I hear it. Thanks to these brave ANZACS we have this amazing country today. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

This is a masterpiece. It reignited the desire of the young to actually learn about "what they're matching for"... and so the young have developed interest, and in fact a desire, to participate in an ANZAC Day ceremony. And so, after 100 years, we have not forgotten! Lest we do indeed forget. Eric Bogle took what he had observed as a National remembrance, and he wondered "why?", and created this. Thanks Eric.

In Albury nsw Australia. A young lady in record shop sold me his cassettes . She said he in concert has you laughing and clapping to the tune . Then this song and we all Are weeping . She said it the sweat and the sour flavour of a good concert

As you say he paints a perfect picture of the horror of the Gallipoli campaign and the futility of war . I like thousands of Australians and New Zealanders have visited Turkey with the express purpose of visiting Anzac Cove at Gallipoli , believe me its a sobering experience seeing all the white crosses and grave markers in the many cemeteries scattered throughout the area the most poignant moment for me was seeing a single red poppy growing next to a grave that was the resting place of a 16 year old soldier who had lied about his age to go to war with his older mates . The last surviving Digger died in the early 2000s at the age of105 he was your typical laconic Aussie , when asked what he attributed his longevity to he looked the reporter in the eye and said , not dieing, . Over 8,600 Aussie's died at Gallipoli with the overall number of deaths including Turk Australian New Zealand British French Indian and some Canadian troops totalling over 200 000 it was a costly experiment with no positive result .LEST WE FORGET

The current and longest singer with acdc is Scottish, he joined the band in London after the second singer Bon Scott died.

He also wrote a song called the green fields of france which is about an irish boy who died in france in ww1. Powerful song

To appreciate this song you need to know the classic Aussie song "Waltzing Matilda". Maybe you do a video of that. And do Advance Australia Fair - for a laugh. The other Aussie song I haven't seen anyone do yet is Men at Work's "Land Down Under". It's iconic for Aussies because the yacht Australia 2 blasted the song in 1983 as it caught up to the American yacht Trinity, who in the deciding final race of the Americas Cup had had a 57 second head start. Our boys closed the gap & then sailed right on past to win by 41 seconds & became the first ever non American yacht to win the Americas Cup. So the Yanks played the some from Rocky, our lads played Land Down Under loudly from behind as they caught up to the Americans and whilst side by side waved them what was probably an 'in your face' hello & then our boys just sailed on by to victory. How dare any other country's boat win the Americas Cup.

If you haven't already listened.. 'I am Australian' by the Seekers. As a proud Australian, I believe that this should be our National Anthem. It says so much more about us than 'our home is girt by sea'. Yak. Just quietly.

Eric is yet another monument to the magnificence of Scottish people, in Scotland or Australia. My Irish genes wonder if the Irish have some wonderful art about suffereing as well, though.

Every time I hear this song I cry

One has to understand the huge part Gallipoli played in forming Australian pride and identity. Australia had been ruled and governed by England and was a colony. In 1901 the Australian government was formed and all members were elected by its people for the first time. This created great pride and an Australian identity. Fourteen years later Australians were sent to war in gallipolli with much national pride and fanfare. Our population was only 4 million. The Australian soldiers had a casualty rate rate of 64%, I think the highest rate of causality of any other nation. One in 4 Australian families had a son, a brother, a father, in uncle who never returned. Consequently every person was affected by this tragedy. A lot of this loss was due to the incompetence of the British command, which Australians never forgot. This fuelled the Australian national identity. For these reasons The battle of Gallipolli and its importance must never be forgotten.

A beautiful song which makes me think about my grandfather who was at Galipoli he also departed Australia from Circular Quay in Sydney, he landed at Galipoli on the 25th April, everytime I hear this song just makes me think of what he and the thousands of other Aussies and Kiwi's went through for a war that wasn't even ours.