Here is a song I wrote recently about the war in Afghanistan and our governments failure to adequately support our troops with the equipment they have so obviously needed from the beginning. The death toll is now 221 and rising with no sign of a satisfactory conclusion. Below the words is an ABC of the tune I first used although that has morphed into something else by now! I must admit that the few times I have sung it the audiences seem a bit uncomfortable with it. Soo, it's either a bad song or they disagree with it!! regards Jake ********************************************************************** The Prime Minister Regrets or The Death of Tommy Atkins by Jake Wade The Prime Minister regrets to say, another soldier died Defending Peace and Freedom in Afghanistan today His parents were informed and his regiment they mourn, For the death of Private Tommy Atkins far away. The politicians tell us our security's at risk From Al-qaeda and the Taliban and all such terrorists So they sent our boys to fight them, in far off, foreign lands To pacify the Taliban, on Afghan's burning sands They sent our boys out there to fight, it's what our boys do best Without their bits of basic kit, without their armoured vests Without the helicopters to keep them well supplied And evacuate the wounded, from Afghan's burning sands They send them out in coffins packaged ready for the blast Of the roadside bomb, the IED, each patrol might be their last But those ministers in Whitehall just don't seem to understand The need for decent armour plate on Afghan's burning sands A medal for the widow and a scroll to help recall Memories of a life cut short, to hang upon the wall Forever a reminder, of just what might have been Had he not died beneath the sun on Afghan's burning sands The people stand behind the men that stand behind the guns, They came from us, belong to us, they are our mother's sons. But those blinkered fools that lead us, now have blood upon their hands From their foolish intervention upon Afghan's burning sands If we could win this war with spin, we'd have won it long ago For we have the very best spin-meisters the world will ever know They take the truth and turn it inside out and upside down But there's no room for spin in the battle's din, on Afghan's burning sands The prime Minister regrets to say, another soldier died Defending Peace and Freedom in Afghanistan today His parents were informed and his regiment they mourn, For the death of Private Tommy Atkins far away. ********************************** X:1 T:The Minister Regrets T: or the Death of Tommy Atkins C:Jake Wade. 09/2009 M:4/4 L:1/8 W: W: W:The Minister regrets to say, another soldier died W:Defending Peace and Freedom in Afghanistan today W:His parents were informed and his regiment they mourn, W:For the death of Private Tommy Atkins far away. W: K:C G2|A2_B2G2E2|F2E2D2C2|D2E2D2B,2|C6C2| w:The Min-is-ter re-grets to say, an-oth-er sold-ier died. De- C2G,2C2D2|E2G2G2A2|G2E2C2E2|D6E2| w:fend-ing peace and free-dom in Af-ghan-is-tan to-day His F2E2D2C2|D4C2B,2|A,2B,2C2A,2|(G,4G,4)| w:Par-ents were in-formed and his reg-i-ment they mou-rn, CDEG3|A2G2G2F2|E2C2E3D|C6:| w: For the death of Pri-vate Tom-my At-kins far a-way *********************************************************************
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