I went down to the Cowper Wharf one day,
To watch the ship Kanimbla in her coat of battle-grey,
Raise the anchor to the flag and sail away.
The wheels of war return and turn and turn
And Baghdad’s bound to burn.
The ‘strong of arm and bright of eye’ stood tall,
I don’t know where their thoughts were but mine were with them all,
Did they ever dare to think that they could fall ?
The wheels of war return and turn and turn
And Baghdad’s bound to burn.
The Gulf lay in between us gaping wide,
Like the flotsam of the sea they were swept up with the tide
And infirm belief that God was on their side,
The wheels of war return and turn and turn
And Baghdad’s bound to burn.
Off to defend a system at full speed,
A system that survives upon half-truths and guns and greed,
While ‘ Third World’ people starve or live in need,
The wheels of war return and turn and turn
And Baghdad’s bound to burn.
Another time and place, another day,
Someone watched my father’s troopship as she sailed away,
There were few would question then about the fray,
The wheels of war return but I’ll keep marching in the hope
That Peace by Peace we’ll learn.
To watch the ship Kanimbla in her coat of battle-grey,
Raise the anchor to the flag and sail away.
The wheels of war return and turn and turn
And Baghdad’s bound to burn.
The ‘strong of arm and bright of eye’ stood tall,
I don’t know where their thoughts were but mine were with them all,
Did they ever dare to think that they could fall ?
The wheels of war return and turn and turn
And Baghdad’s bound to burn.
The Gulf lay in between us gaping wide,
Like the flotsam of the sea they were swept up with the tide
And infirm belief that God was on their side,
The wheels of war return and turn and turn
And Baghdad’s bound to burn.
Off to defend a system at full speed,
A system that survives upon half-truths and guns and greed,
While ‘ Third World’ people starve or live in need,
The wheels of war return and turn and turn
And Baghdad’s bound to burn.
Another time and place, another day,
Someone watched my father’s troopship as she sailed away,
There were few would question then about the fray,
The wheels of war return but I’ll keep marching in the hope
That Peace by Peace we’ll learn.
inviata da Riccardo Venturi
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Our first troopship to Iraq sailed from Cowper Wharf 2003. I watched her sail with a heavy heart.