We were soldiers once,
Eons ago when war had a different face,
We laced up our boots and proudly wore our flags,
Fighting because we had a purpose,
We fought for........ Our home, because our loved ones were there,
We fought for........ Our honour? Because we are a proud people,
We fought because we had an inner fire and a purpose it could be used for,

We were soldiers once,
Comparing new bruises and old scars,
Trying to remember which battle we had lived through to bear those reminders,
We sung the old war chants that became more than lullabies,
And breathlessly remembered the long standing jokes about each and every comrade,
We held the lamp as our brothers and sisters wrote their letters home,
And we cried in delight as they shared their home cooked treats,

We were soldiers once,
We watched the world take our friends when it was not their time to leave,
We watched the world save our friends from what seemed an inescapable fate,
We have seen our friends returned to us when all seemed lost and gone,
We have held each others bloodied hands and grinned in the face of loss,
We have wept our tears when all was dark and the light seemed too far away,
We were soldiers once and that day seems only yesterday.