Lyrics
They came at dawn with the cameras on Front gate swinging wide A soldier stood where his children watched With the whole world at his side
Medals catching the morning sun Dust rising off the ground One day a name they lifted high Next day they dragged it down
He wore the colours, he walked the line For a country that sent him away Through the dust and heat of Afghanistan Where the rules of war turn grey
Now the streets are full of sudden judges Talking loud from the safety of home Never felt that weight of silence Never wore the green alone
War hero or scapegoat? Tell me, what do you see? A digger sent to do the hard things Then judged from comfort far away
War hero or scapegoat? Australia, make your call Do we stand by those we sent to war Or not stand by them at all?
Out there nothing is clean or kind No tidy lines, no frame Just dust and blood and broken sleep And brothers who don't come back the same
Years roll on and the questions grow But the ground won't answer clear Still they build their case from shadows While the men who bled stay here
The studios feast, the headlines roll The country splits in two One side wants a fallen giant The other wants what's true
Kitchen tables, RSL halls All ringing with the noise Of voices safe from any danger Never made the soldiers' choice
War ain't the talk of careful men With clean hands and polished shoes It's split-second fear and instinct raw And things a bloke can never lose
You can't send the ADF to fight your wars Then paint it black and white You can't ask our finest to walk through hell Then flinch at how they fight
If a man must answer for what was done Let him stand where soldiers stand Before those who know the weight of war And the dust of a foreign land
Not trial by press, not trial by talk Not a nation gripped by doubt But judged by men who've borne command Who know what war brings out
War hero or scapegoat? That question won't lie down Not while the dust still clings to boots All across this battered town
War hero or scapegoat? Australia, search your soul The way we treat our fighting men Shows what this country holds
So leave a little room for doubt Before you carve it into stone For every soldier crossed that line And never quite came home
War hero or scapegoat? The answer cuts us through For how we judge the ones we sent Says what is left of truth