You should be here
Whistling the national anthem
When they march past
In their dusty uniforms.

You should still be here
With your smile
And medals out-shining
The rays of the sun.

You should have come home
And walked down my street
And should have seen
Men walk on the moon.

You should have seen England
Win the Ashes
And had children
Waltzing on your knee.

You should have lived
And came marching home
With your rifle
Waving in the air.

You should have not died
And met your brother’s children
And sat there with pride
At their weddings.

You should have not been killed
But lived to fight another day
And not buried far away,

Tracing planes

And sadness blowing
Like poppies in the heat
Near where you fell. 

(Live Version @ Performance, March 2013
)