Soldiers On Parade
Marcus Turner

Here they come marching past the houses, shiny boots and khaki blouses,
Stiff as the creases in their trousers, standing tall and straight and strong,
And they all keep in step together, glint of steel and flash of leather,
Braving every kind of weather as they boldly march along.
You may dismiss it as a ploy for the enlistment of the boys
Who’ll be impressed to see the toys and play the games that can be played,
And you may well prefer abstention, but I feel compelled to mention
You’d do well to pay attention when the boys are on parade.

Look at your sons. Before they’re older, they’ll be stronger, they’ll be bolder —
Just the thing to make a soldier! — and we’ll turn them into men,
And they’ll be taught to follow orders, keep the peace and guard the borders,
To protect us from marauders and defend us to the end.
But the position they’ll be filling is to be able and be willing
To be killed and do the killing when there’s a price that must be paid,
And you may well prefer abstention, but I feel compelled to mention
You’d do well to pay attention when the boys are on parade.

In the pursuit of a community of decency and unity
And equal opportunity, we stand prepared to fight,
And if there’s a threat to our position from aggressive opposition
Then, with guns and ammunition, we’ll repel with all our might.
And we’ll dehumanize and hate them, send in the troops to decimate them,
As in the name of all the nation all it stands for is betrayed,
And you may well prefer abstention, but I feel compelled to mention
You’d do well to pay attention when the boys are on parade.

Merely the whim or intuition of an elected politician
Makes a mêlée without conditions as the monster leaves its cage.
It’s a machine that knows no quarter, dealing death and sowing slaughter,
Raping mothers, wives and daughters in an all-consuming rage.
And we may well believe we need it, and we’ll pay to arm and feed it,
But can you tell me who will lead it when the decision must be made?
And you may well prefer abstention, but I feel compelled to mention
You’d do well to pay attention when the boys are on parade.

Some will wonder what’s to fear, and say that there’s no danger here,
But there has never been a year when soldiers haven’t been at war;
And the inhuman executions and the bloody revolutions
And the Ultimate Solutions, too, have all been seen before.
And there is always someone scheming, and sometimes at night, as I lie dreaming,
In the distance I hear screaming, and in my heart I feel afraid,
And you may well prefer abstention, but I feel compelled to mention
You’d do well to pay attention when the boys are on parade.

Here they come marching past the houses, shiny boots and khaki blouses,
Stiff as the creases in their trousers, standing tall and straight and strong,
And is it any cause for pride that now the women march beside them?
Will there be wiser gods to guide them in discerning right from wrong?
For every step is a reminder of the threat that lies behind us
If we forget the ties that bind us when the decisive game is played,
And you may well prefer abstention, but I feel compelled to mention
You’d do well to pay attention when the boys are on parade.

And as the procession passes by, consider the sight before your eyes,
’Cause it’ll be you they’ll kill and die for if they are called to the crusade,
So you can love them and adore them, or you can hate them and abhor them,
But for God’s sake don’t ignore them when the boys are on parade.