In 1969 the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland (One Man, One Vote) exploded into a violent frenzy. The British army was sent in as a peace keeping force and soon became part of the problem.
In an effort to boost the number of new recruits, the British Government mounted an advertising campaign which featured young men, learning various trades, computer skills and skiing.
Recruiting stations (Army Career Offices) were opened all over Glasgow and surrounding areas and the unemployed youth of these areas were specifically targeted as likely candidates.
Irish immigration was extremely high in these towns and many of the young men being recruited were, like myself, of Irish descent with very little, if any, Scottish blood coursing through their veins.
This is the hidden dilemma which the angry young man has to face.
Once recruited, he would be immediately sent off to Northern Ireland whereupon he would discover that he had unwittingly become an enemy to his own people.
Gangs of youths were hurling rocks and petrol bombs at the troops and on many occasions, the troops fired back.
Some recruits were reluctant to fight and others.... not quite so reluctant.
Given the time line of this song, there is a simple line which is so easily overlooked and yet it says so much.
"I've a brother in Glasgow wi' lang curly hair, When I joined up he said I was daft."
Given that this was his older brother (No-one takes advice from a younger sibbling) with long curly hair, he would have come through the sixties, well versed in the anti establishment, anti war movement and not an easy target for even the best recruiting officer. This is important to note because there was a whole decades worth of young men who could not be harnessed and this was part of the reason for such an agressive recruiting campaign.
In short: This song is about a wounded soldier who was fooled into fighting an unarmed foe but the social issues underlying this song are an absolute minefield to the Scots & Irish.